[Cyrus_the_virus]

I honestly feel the previous tariff structure was more simple and better. Being forced to rent for minimum 4 hours is kinda odd comparing the freedom you had before. And the 4 hours barely comes up to the number of kms that could have been covered by a 2hr reservation before. 10kms for an hour! Anybody can run faster than that.

I might be wrong but prima facie I am thinking it's sounding complicated for the mango man.

[bravo6]

Well, if you look at it from price point alone (Figo taken as example):

Before: Rs300 = 2hrs/50km

Now: Rs240 = 4hrs/40km; Rs300 = 4hrs/45km

The 4 hr policy makes little difference. What I don't like is if I have to pay 5k deposit for a Rs240 booking! And if I have multiple bookings with them, each booking will individually take up a deposit of 5k. I hope this is fixed ASAP!

Also, I don't know if Zoom realizes this, but if you're gonna exceed the free kms, extending the booking will work out cheaper at Rs.6/km than booking for a shorter period and paying Rs.12/km. Works for everything except the A Class and the 320D.

I think it's time Zoom introduced a daily rental, fuel not included plan for those travelling longer distances.

[uday.ere]

Got a mail just now announcing Zoomcar is on mobile :

ZoomCar Mobile App - Available Now on iPhone and Android. Have downloaded the Android app, need to see how user friendly it is.

[searchingheaven]

Posted this on FB page and got this reply:Link

[KING DYSP]

ZoomCar has added 2 New Locations - Rajajinagar(Sireesh Auto) & Magadi Road(Cauvery Ford).

[Magemegento]

Originally Posted by bravo6

Well, if you look at it from price point alone (Figo taken as example):

Before: Rs300 = 2hrs/50km

Now: Rs240 = 4hrs/40km; Rs300 = 4hrs/45km

The 4 hr policy makes little difference. What I don't like is if I have to pay 5k deposit for a Rs240 booking! And if I have multiple bookings with them, each booking will individually take up a deposit of 5k. I hope this is fixed ASAP!

Also, I don't know if Zoom realizes this, but if you're gonna exceed the free kms, extending the booking will work out cheaper at Rs.6/km than booking for a shorter period and paying Rs.12/km. Works for everything except the A Class and the 320D.

I think it's time Zoom introduced a daily rental, fuel not included plan for those travelling longer distances.

Hah! Yeah! Earlier, i used to book a Zoomcar for 4 hours to go pick up someone at the Airport (85km trip). (Costed Rs 600 without any excess kms or time). Now I can just book for 8 hours and keep it in my house while saving Rs120/. While Zoom loses a customer or two on account of the car being booked for 8 hours.
On the outset this tariff structure seems better for those customers looking for weekend outings to the market/shopping & dates. Weekday structure is kind of awkward. I mean I have had such a good experience everytime I have rented Zoom cars that I myself wouldn't want to overbook their car when my work is only for 2-3 hrs (Like an Airport pick up)

Though this 5K security seems high, after never having to pay such an amount since using this service, I think they can come up with a membership option in which they can keep the 5K as security for any no of bookings (while also making some interest on the money) and the customer doesn't have to pay it again and again.

[hothatchaway]

with the new structure I guess they are gunning for higher (read 'better) utilization rates.

For e.g. a Vento will cost you 500 bucks for every 40 kms at peak rates (or 125 bucks/hour @ 10kms) and IIRC the earlier peak rate was 300 bucks for 25 kms/hour. So the per km rate has gone up by only 50p but now you are 'forced' to book not only longer (a ridiculous 10km/hr) but also a higher bulk mileage of 40kms instead of the earlier 25kms

This is great if you spend more time parking your zoom ride than driving while earlier you got to drive more,not sure if the new structure is going to boost revenues by much (per the earlier rates if I wanted to drive 40 kms I would end up paying 480 instead of 500 now, provided I dont spill over to the 2nd hour - are they trying to cut down on aimless joyrides? or just to show higher utilization rates?

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by Magemegento

...I think they can come up with a membership option in which they can keep the 5K as security for any no of bookings (while also making some interest on the money) and the customer doesn't have to pay it again and again.

I'd prefer they charge the deposit while making the first booking. Then for subsequent booking, they can charge only the booking amount. When all the bookings are completed, they can refund the deposit.

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

are they trying to cut down on aimless joyrides?

If anything, the new structure will cause more aimless joyrides

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by bravo6

If anything, the new structure will cause more aimless joyrides

Debatable... earlier, one could rent for an hour say early morningish for 300 bucks, pedal to the metal for 25 kms and be done with it.

Now you have to block for 4 hrs/40 kms pay 500 INR which is 66% more. Who takes 4 hrs to drive 40 kms anyways, even though one can argue that you can rent for 4 hrs and leave it parked for 3.

I think they are gravitating towards a model where the target renter needs a ride to the mall or to the airport for a pick up

[blue_pulsar]

I hate the new pricing policy. I tried zoom once, just for an hour. I had liked their service. But the new pricing is just a downer.

Zoom: If you're reading this, you just lost one customer, and am sure many more.

[ranjitp1]

I think they are aiming at the within city rentals and not really at rentals which ends up with the customer keeping the car for days on end.I just checked for my upcoming travel to blr and I find that its easier and cheaper to hire for a 12hr period than for a 24hr hr period where close to 10hrs is going to be in the night where the car is going to be parked somewhere while you sleep!

The only hassle being that if you need it for two consecutive days you should be prepared to go through the hassle of returning and taking again!

On this note could somebody kindly advise if all the zoom counters are manned 24hrs for dropping the car back?i was looking at dropping the car back around 12am.

[bravo6]

All our complaining has paid off. The 5k deposit should now be made only 24hrs before you pick up a vehicle.

Fellow Self-Drive Enthusiast,


We have been working around the clock this past week to ensure that we act upon our community’s valuable feedback!

Because of high demand for vehicles, a substantial chunk of you make bookings weeks in advance. As you know, we’re not a bank, and the ZoomCar team really doesn’t want your money stuck in a security deposit for that entire period. Starting today, at checkout you can choose to delay your deposit payment to 24 hours before your booking starts.

Planning to go to the Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagadduvalli for the August Lakshmi Puja? Book now and delay your deposit to just before you Zoom off!

The Rs 5000 security deposit improves our user experience in many ways, some directly and some indirectly. First the direct: as many of you have already experienced, we have squeezed down drop off time to just 2-3 minutes by automatically processing any charges and refunding the balance (users no longer have to wait at the location for assessment and payment). The indirect: the deposit ensures that even the ZoomCar team saves time in processing outstanding payments and can focus on adding many, many more sites along with countless new vehicles. If we aren’t already in your neighbourhood, we will now be there even sooner!

So while the deposit helps our community, we will still bend over backwards to ensure it poses the minimum inconvenience. In steps, we will keep improving our users’ experiences! Do expect to see more improvements around the deposit payment in the weeks to come.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

On this note could somebody kindly advise if all the zoom counters are manned 24hrs for dropping the car back?i was looking at dropping the car back around 12am.

Sorry, missed this part. Yes, Zoom counters are manned 24 hrs. However, the person may be asleep in the wee hours, so might not pick up the phone on your first try, in case you need directions.

[searchingheaven]

Originally Posted by bravo6

All our complaining has paid off. The 5k deposit should now be made only 24hrs before you pick up a vehicle.

I don't see how this makes any difference. Ultimately, you have to pay the deposit. Most of the bookings i made were within 24 hrs of the trip.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

I don't see how this makes any difference. Ultimately, you have to pay the deposit. Most of the bookings i made were within 24 hrs of the trip.

Of course it isn't as good as it was before with the 0 deposit, but it sure beats having to shell out 20k if you have 4 different bookings. And your 5k is stuck with them for only 2-3 days.

Instead of charging 5k deposit "just in case" we cross the allotted free kms, Zoom might as well give us fuel excluded daily plans.