[sankiXwing]

Any recommendations/ contacts whom I can check with for a self drive Hatchback (in Trivandrum)

I have spoken to 2 of the taxi agencies in Thiruvanthpuram but none of them offer Self Drive Options.

Travelling in March 2016.

[virgopal]

Cars and Bikes You Fancy Can be Yours; on Rent
http://www.newindianexpress.com/auto...cle3322086.ece
HYDERABAD: Want to drive a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S or experience any other super car you may have only heard of? Want to ride a Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14 R or enjoy the raw power of Triumph Rocket 3 or any other super bike you may have only seen in pictures?

Any of those ultra-luxury cars or monster bikes can all become yours - for the rental period at least.

Be it special occasions like marriages, anniversaries or birthdays, Valentine's Day, an outing with the family, simply a joy ride or a sports tour or just to meet the desire of driving or riding your favourite vehicle, a Hyderabad-based startup caters to all.

DRIVEN, floated by the city's largest and oldest car-rental companies, Noori Travels and 4Wheels Travels, offers a one-stop solution for all transportation needs in the self-driven and self-ride segment.

From Nanos to Volkswagens, Volvos, Toyotas, Audis, BMWs, Jaguars, Mini Convertibles to the Porsche 911, it offers the entire range to cater to every category of customers. The daily rentals begin as low as Rs.299 for a Nano and goes up to Rs.29,999 for the Porsche 911.

The fleet of motorbikes range from street bikes like the Honda Activa to Enfields, Harley Davidsons, Triumphs, Indian Scouts, Benellis, Ducatis and Kawasaki Ninjas. With bikes like Triumph Rocket 3 powered by a 2,400 cc engine, speed lovers can't resist the temptation to ride the monster.

With a fleet of 150 cars and over 50 bikes and with a vast experience in car rentals, DRIVEN last year rolled out its services in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

"There is a lot of foreign investment here. Global MNCs like Microsoft, IBM and Google have their presence here. Many people come from outside and they need a convenient mode of transport. It is convenient when you drive the car yourself. It is complete safe because you are not dependent on the driver. There is also privacy because you can discuss anything you want in car. You don't have a third ear listening," co-founder Karrar Ahmed Taher told IANS.

He also saw tremendous potential in the self-drive/self-ride market in view of the rapidly growing middle classes who need a car for their daily routine.

"People show a lot of desire to drive these cars and bikes, which they can't generally afford. They would never ever be able to drive for example a Porsche but it is available for them here. On a special day, it's not difficult for them to decide to drive this car," he said.

According to Karrar, there are need-based customers like those who have given their cars for servicing and also those going out of station but don't want to drive wherever they are going.

Another segment of customers only desire a vehicle but don't really need one. "On special occasions or when the weather is good, you want to take out an open convertible or you want to experience raw power of one of those cars," the young co-founder explained.

DRIVEN has seen many women customers for its bikes during the last nine months. Some of them rode themselves but the majority gifted the ride to their husbands or boyfriends. "We did deliveries because they wanted to give a surprise," Karrar said.

"The bikes are very expensive and most of the people can't afford them. There is also a huge maintenance cost involved. Even if people manage to buy them, they get bored in two to three months and want to see something new," he added.

After a good experience in Hyderabad and the other two cities in Andhra Pradesh, the bootstrapped DRIVEN is planning to expand to five to six more cities in three years. This year, it plans to roll out services in Goa, Chennai and Bengaluru. It is also looking at Delhi and Pune for expansion.

Karrar believes they would need 3,000 cars and 1,000 bikes for the expansion to five to six cities.

As a one-stop solution, the firm is also offering bicycles like Moonlander, Surly and Cannondale.

According to Karrar, India has around 2,000-2,500 self-drive cars against 20 million in China. "There is huge scope of business in this market," he said.

He believes India is lagging because of legal hurdles and not so conducive infrastructure. He, however, felt things are now changing.
Moderators: If not an appropriate thread,kindly merge in a suitable thread

[Scarlet_Rider]

Hello Folks,

While searching for self-drive options in Hyderabad other than Zoom, Revv and Myles, I found this upcoming self-drive car and self-ride bike rental service based in Hyderabad called Driven. They currently operate in Hyderabad, Vijayawada (only cars) and Visakhapatnam. According to their site, this brand owned by 4 Wheel Travels & Noori Travels which have been in Hyderabad for a long time.

Wanted to check whether any Team-BHPians have used Driven.

Link: www.driven.in



Even though I have not used their services, here are some of my observations:

First impression:

Cars

• Various car rental options are provided based on customer's requirement.

• Hourly option which includes 10 kms per hour similar to Zoom. Minimum booking should be for 6 hours.

• Zero mileage cost per day option with a separate rate per kilometer.

• Full day (24 hours) booking option available with FUP of 350 kms per day.

• Many options of cars available from the Nano, Eon, Beat, Kwid, Thar to Beemers, Jaguars, Mini Convertible, Mercs, Audis, Volvos and the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.

Bikes

• Various bike rental options are provided based on customer's requirement.

• Hourly option which includes 10 kms per hour. Minimum booking should be for 4 hours.

• Zero mileage cost per day option not available on certain bikes.

• Certain bikes are offered for 8 hours duration which includes usage up to 100 kms.

• Full day (24 hours) booking option available with FUP of 350 kms per day.

• Two wheeler range looks impressive starting with the Activa, KTM, Bullet, Harleys, Triumphs, Dukes, Indian, Benelli, Kawasaki.

Accessories

• Accessories are also provided on rent for cars and bikes. For example, car users can rent a baby car seat, navigation aid and Bluetooth. Bike users can rent helmets, jackets, gloves, knee guards, Go Pro camera, etc.

Concerns:

• The security deposit is on the higher side (INR 10,000.00) , especially for cars like Nano, Eon, Beat, Kwid, etc. Hope this amount comes down once they are fully operational.

• The website still seems to be in the development stage as there is no option to register. However they have given their phone number and an online form is available. There is also a Payments option wherein you need to input a reference number that they provide. I guess they are currently taking bookings via email and phone.

Considering the range of cars and bikes available, this is a good option for people to test drive/ride before making a purchase. Please do share your feedback in case you use Driven.

Regards and Keep Revving,

Rahul Waghmare.

[vartakavi]

Wanted to share a very happy experience with Zoomcar rental in Chandigarh. This was the first time I used Zoomcar. They had about 10 or more cars parked in the Chandigarh railway station in one corner. I had booked a Ford Figo for a week, but they gave me a Honda Amaze because the Figo was not available for some reason. The Amaze had done a little over 40K Kms and I was a bit concerned about the tyre condition, because we were driving into the hills on some not too good roads, but the tyres did not give me any trouble. The Executive who was waiting for us to pick up the car was very courteous and professional. He showed us all the existing dents and scratches and asked me to take photos with my phone. He then showed me the vehicle documentation. The car had come with Himachal and Haryana road tax paid, so all I had to do was to pay road tax for one day for passing through Punjab each way.

I enjoyed driving the Amaze in the hills and when we got back to Chandigarh, called the Zoomcar executive to tell him we were going to drop off the car shortly. He was waiting for us and the again, the drop off procedure was done very professionally. He updated a checklist on his phone and took photos of the fuel bills and we were done. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in less than ten minutes, my billing was done and the refund was processed.

All in all, a very good experience!

[navlur]

No self-drive cars available in Cochin?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by navlur

No self-drive cars available in Cochin?

No the self-drive car concept hasnt arrived in Kerala yet.there are private owners letting out their cars-but not reccomended.

[IndianNomad]

Originally Posted by navlur

No self-drive cars available in Cochin?

Even I had the same query.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

No the self-drive car concept hasnt arrived in Kerala yet.there are private owners letting out their cars-but not reccomended.

Thank you confirming.
I am thinking of opting for Ola/Uber or hire a local taxi.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by IndianNomad

Even I had the same query.



Thank you confirming.
I am thinking of opting for Ola/Uber or hire a local taxi.

The Ola/Uber model is not a mature model yet in Kerala and is only available within Kochi city limits currently.The best way would be to stick to the same car for the entire duration of the trip-hired via hotel or via some tour operator.

[Piyush46]

Hello guys,
I am travelling to Bangalore via railways. From there, we will be going to ooty and coming back. We need a big car as we are 4 people plus some luggage. This is my first time travelling to these locations and hiring a self drive car ( if i do ).
I need some help. Can any of you please answer the following questions ?

1. Which self drive option is the best ?
2. How many states will we be travelling through in this entire journey ? The state tax for the same and the process by which can they be paid ?
3. Our trains are from different stations. What should i do for taking and returning the car ?
4. The condition of the road between bangalore and ooty and is it wise to hire a taxi or hire a self drive car ?

Thanks in advance.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by Piyush46

1. Which self drive option is the best ?
2. How many states will we be travelling through in this entire journey ? The state tax for the same and the process by which can they be paid ?
3. Our trains are from different stations. What should i do for taking and returning the car ?
4. The condition of the road between bangalore and ooty and is it wise to hire a taxi or hire a self drive car ?

I would suggest Zoomcar. Its easy to rent from them. They have a doorstep delivery. Check with them if they can deliver the car to you at the railway station and then pick it up from there for return.

You will travel through two states viz. KA and TN. So that means that you will need to pay entry tax when you enter TN. It will work out to be appx. Rs 500. You can get details here http://www.zoomcar.com/outstation. The process to pay is simple; you will see an RTO post as soon as you cross the state border. Stop there, present your papers (Zoom provides it neatly in a folder) and pay the money. Take the receipt and you are on your way. The TN tax is valid for 1 week, do if you are staying for longer then check with the RTO post for the costs.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by Piyush46

Hello guys,
[*]The condition of the road between bangalore and ooty and is it wise to hire a taxi or hire a self drive car ?[/list]
Thanks in advance.

Piyush - The roads are good. There are some patches near Gudlur which is a bit bumpy. There is a separate thread on Bangalore - Ooty where all details are available.

One other option you can choose is to take the KSRTC Volvo buses. Their Airawat and Airawat Club Class buses are quite reliable. The Bus Stand is just adjacent to the Bangalore Railway station.

The reason i suggest this is because, this can enable you to hire a vehicle at Ooty for local sight seeing, instead of trying to drive thru crazy traffic in some sight seeing spots.

[Piyush46]

I would suggest Zoomcar. Its easy to rent from them. They have a doorstep delivery. Check with them if they can deliver the car to you at the railway station and then pick it up from there for return.

Thanks for the information ptushar,
I was comparing prices of zoomcar and just ride, found quite a bit of difference. Can you, if you know, please tell me about this just ride ? How are they ?

One other option you can choose is to take the KSRTC Volvo buses. Their Airawat and Airawat Club Class buses are quite reliable. The Bus Stand is just adjacent to the Bangalore Railway station.

Thanks for the information jkrishnakj,
We are not exactly coming for sight seeing, but for some work. A car will be needed as we will have many luggage.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by Piyush46

Thanks for the information ptushar,
I was comparing prices of zoomcar and just ride, found quite a bit of difference. Can you, if you know, please tell me about this just ride ? How are they ?

Never tried justride. I have used Zoom and the experience is pleasant. Also note that Zoom provides fuel included costs. So if you rent for, say, 2 days or 48 hours then you get about 480 kms included. Which means that if you know you are going to drive less than 480 kms then you do not have to incur any fuel costs. So factor that when you compare.

[Piyush46]

Which means that if you know you are going to drive less than 480 kms then you do not have to incur any fuel costs. So factor that when you compare.

I got to know the fact that the fuel is included. But even if it is included, just ride is costing me less.
Nevertheless, I am planning to drop the idea of self-drive and hire a taxi instead. Thanks.

[sinharishi]

Orange cabs Self Drive (Delhi/Gurgaon)


Rented a Toyota Innova from Orange cabs for 5 days to travel to Mcleodganj and Amritsar from New Delhi. I opted for pick up and drop which costed me additional 600/-. They gave me the car with full tank, I returned it with full tank. The booking, delivery, pick up and refund process was very smooth. The car was very clean, had 25k kms on the Odo and was equipped with 2 Airbags, ABS and a fire extinguisher .

Contact Details: Mr Uday - 9971448833
Address: C-5, Shanti Kunj, Church Road, Opp. D-3, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110070, INDIA
Email: info@orangeselfdrive.com

Orange Cabs Self Drive Fleet



Pre-trip Invoice



Post-trip Invoice



The car: