[cruiser_1982]

Originally Posted by anekho

OT: Which cab service/company are you referring to?

I am referring to Fastrack, Bharti, etc.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Spitfire sir ,you are exaggerating

LOL. IBM is making tea/coffee chargeable from next month. I was in IBM.

Very vague comparison i know. I was trying to highlight that the business model is good. Problem is the way its being carried out.

[Lord Lucan]

Except for Airport trips, I have found both Meru and EasyCabs as unreliable. They never turn up on the scheduled time fro shorter distances like HAL to CANT. station.


Their call center responses on such situations are really miserable

[finneyp]

They mostly take Airport trips only.
I had once called Meru for a drop to City Railway station, the call center replied that all cabs are busy with the Airport trips!

[emkay456]

I have been availing Meru cabs for my travel to airport from home. While confirming whatever is mentioned in the thread, would like to add that now I have found that mostly the thermal printer in the cab would have gone out of order and they would ask if you need a receipt in which case they issue a manual receipt.
In Mumbai I think the welfare of the drivers has been taken up by a certain new political party. They were in the news few months back when a driver died in an accident. Heard that issues like Provident Fund etc were part of the discussions with company management.

[Gandhi]

Haven't used the Meru cabs too much to comment on their punctuality, but it is always better to make friends with some local taxiwala and you'll get great service.

One such taxiwala is Raju in my area. He has fixed charges for all major destinations from our area (Hoodi Circle).

Airport - 650 (that's standard I think)
Majestic - 300 (cheap)
Yeshwanthpur - 350 (cheap)
KR Puram - 120 (darn cheap, heck even auto guys charge 90-100 Rs).

To quote the service levels, here is an example. We were coming back from native place and were to get down at KR Puram railway station at 4.45 PM. Had asked this guy to come at 5 o'clock. The train got delayed by 2 hrs and we departed from station at around 7:15 PM. He didn't charge me a single penny extra for the 2 hours .

I then happily gave him a 50 Rs note for his service.

[anujmishra]

Once Meru and EasyCabs were on Strike for more than one months protesting 950 Rupees per days fees. Apart from paying 950 rupees they have to fil Diesel also in cab.

I already fixed one of Meru cab for my travel. Many days they just manage cover the cost (950+diesel ). Also call centre is not providing them Airport pickup regularly. They started to managing customer themselves. They are not much interested in local pickpup and drop. They are absolutely not willing to come to Railway Station in Bangalore.

While coming to Airport (presently I am in Seoul) driver asked me Sir, Can I have Guthka? I have not slept for more than 20+ hours. I was like . I asked go ahead but make sure do not cross speed beyond 50 Kmph. I have enough time to reach Airport.

[Lord Lucan]

Originally Posted by finneyp

They mostly take Airport trips only.
I had once called Meru for a drop to City Railway station, the call center replied that all cabs are busy with the Airport trips!

In my case, I used to book early and the call center will confirm my booking. About 3-4 hours before the scheduled pickup time, I will also get an SMS with Cab details. All these does not guarantee that these Cab drivers will actually turn up.


Probably due to their business model, if they get any alternative 'lucarative' trip to Airport in the last minute, they ditch the less 'profitable' customers like me. Their call centers does not seem to care at all..

The erstwhile SPOT citi taxi was much better, I never reliability issues with them. But they have ramped down the number of cabs significantly now.

[srh]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Lets assume they cover 100000 kms in a year.

They get: 1400000

Every km they run will not be billable. Empty trips have to be discounted. I would not be surprised that 40% or their running would be non-billable

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by emkay456

I have been availing Meru cabs for my travel to airport from home. While confirming whatever is mentioned in the thread, would like to add that now I have found that mostly the thermal printer in the cab would have gone out of order and they would ask if you need a receipt in which case they issue a manual receipt.
In Mumbai I think the welfare of the drivers has been taken up by a certain new political party. They were in the news few months back when a driver died in an accident. Heard that issues like Provident Fund etc were part of the discussions with company management.

Accident reminds me, just yesterday, I saw a completely totalled Meru Indigo Marina being towed away on the W.E. Highway. Must have been a really bad crash. Hope everyone was fine.

And I think political parties should stay the hell away from anything and everything.

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Spitfire sir ,you are exaggerating hours ,14-16 hours of software work ? . IT guys get casual leaves ,sick leaves,paternity leaves,adoption leaves,marriage leaves ,study reimbursement ,medical insurance.....not to forget sat and Sunday holiday,free internet and cofee/tea/snaks freeeeeeee .Its not right to compare both .

OT - but anyway the point has been brought up for discussion -
Casual leaves - and you could be called in at any time of your leave because there is a P1 issue
Sick leaves - there is a planned release and you happen to fall sick - god bless! Not that I work for a lala company, it has been amongst the top 5 companies to work for, it cares for you and therefore you care for it..
Paternity leaves - I am yet to avail mine though it has been 1+ month of my fatherhood - again, god bless a release planned in a few hours from now :-)
Marriage leaves - got married and I was just able to manage 2 weeks of leaves - 1 before and 1 after where I had to manage the entire show, right from travelling back to India, prepare, wed, get a marriage certificate followed by a visa for my wife and rush back..
Free internet/coffee/tea/snacks - nothing is free in this world my friend
Sat and Sunday holidays - you got to be kidding me or you work for some company which tops the charts. Please PM me your email id and I will ensure you would earn a handsome referral

[riteshritesh]

What's so different if the Cab company is exploiting the drivers? It happens everywhere in India. Politicians exploit, Businesses exploit, even our household servants are exploited .
Meru et al , are here to make money and one can make money only by exploitation.
Else it would be called a charity. ( Even Charities exploit:-) )

[psp62in]

Originally Posted by kanwal

During my 2 month long stay in Mumbai few months back, I used Meru cabs for daily pick and drop. Knowing Mumbai traffic you can guess I had to spent more than 2 hrs daily in taxi mostly chatting with Drivers. The business model explained by svsantosh is same what I came to know from them. The only difference is (it may be diff in Mumbai) that -
1. The daily fees there is INR 750.
2. As some of them (drivers) explained, if they are going on leave for couple of days, they have to inform MERU in advance and deposit their car at company's garage. During this period they don't need to pay daily fees.

Also as Zappo mentioned, the call center is just a facility provided by the Meru and Driver don't require to use that always.

This information is correct for Mumbai Meru.

Some additional info on the fuel/maintenence costs sharing in Mumbai:
1. Fuel cost (CNG) is compleltely borne by the driver. It works out to be roughly Rs. 1.10 to 1.20 per km.
2. The current fare structure in Mumbai is Rs. 20 at flag down (1st km) and Rs. 14 per km thereafter.
3. Normally a full tank (empty capacity is ~12 kgs but normal refill will be just about 10kg) can give about 160kms and the vehicle needs 1-2 fills on an avg day.

3. The vehicle service costs are borne by the company. Every vehicle is serviced once a month.
4. Any internal maintence work cost, including engine etc is borne by the company.
5. Any external work cost (i.e. accident related) is shared 50-50 by the driver/company after the insurance claim.
5. Assuming 60% of the daily run is with the passangers on-board, the arithmetic is as below:
Daily payment to the company = Rs. 750/-
Fuel cost (15 kgs CNG a day @ Rs 25/kg) = Rs. 375
Kms run with passanger on board (16km/kg*15kgs* 60%) = 144 km
Daily total collection = Rs. 2016
Net to the driver after fuel and payment to the company = Rs. 891/- (i.e. Rs 22K per month assuming 25 working days).
(As per my talk with some of the Meru drivers, the actual daily take-home averages in the above range).

So it is not all that bad as some of you may think.
I feel this is reasonable considering that it benefits the three parties, viz. The company, the driver, and the customer.

[Wind]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Meru & Easy Cab Business Model
[*]'seems' the business model was pitched to drivers with a prospect of @ Least 2/3 Airport TO City transfers. This will ensure @ least 750-1000Rs 'Profit' a day.

According to a Meru cab driver I spoke to couple of months ago in BLR they are only guaranteed one Airport City transfer.

A bit OT, I hardly see a SPOT city taxi in Bangalore. Have they ramped down their fleet?
Their service was the best.

-- Wind

[TheARUN]

This thread has been a very educational read.

One point I'm surprised that nobody made was, nobody is forcing the Drivers to agree to the terms. They are getting in at their own risk or because of circumstances. Hence, they better be prepared for what is in store for them.

Its only fair that the Driver takes care of all the repairs and consumables, since he is directly responsible for what happens.

The MERU+EASY CABS service has only used the airport transfer route as a back door entry. In other words, they are just like any other cab. Pay and use stuff, can take you from any Point A to any Point B, not necessarily to the Airport only.

Could someone throw more light on the deals that the companies are getting when they buy the cars in bulk from the manufacturers? I heard about a car rental company HERTZ that used to buy IKONs at dirt cheap prices directly from FORD

The Driver not getting enough sleep syndrome is everywhere. Its more a trade off to what sleep a Driver needs to what he gets, rather than is a lazy Driver getting his craving for sleep satisfied. The best terms I've seen as regards sleep is for long distance bus drivers. These guys drive like this.
Monday night - Start from Bangalore, go to Hyderabad. Drive for half the distance and then sleep in the bus. Spend tuesday in a lodge at Hyderabad, chilling out
Tuesday night - Start from Hyderabad and come back to Bangalore. Drive for half the distance and then sleep in the bus.
Wednesday morning, go home, and Wednesday night, same routine repeats.

There is another Driving schedule for Bus drivers.
Monday morning, leave Davangere and drive to Bangalore, 300 kilometers away. Reach by noon, then sleep in the bus till evening. Night start out again for Davangere and reach by early Tuesday morning. Tuesday is Off day. Start again on Wednesday morning.