[BoneCollector]

Uber is in talks with BluSmart to acquire it's business. Somehow, I'm not happy with this if it happens. BluSmart has been giving a super service. Be it point to point service or rentals, they're great. If Uber acquires it, we may end up with last minute ride cancellations to not using AC to preserve battery charge and what not.

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[vedantpatkar17]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I'm not happy with this if it happens. BluSmart has been giving a super service. Be it point to point service or rentals, they're great. If Uber acquires it, we may end up with last minute ride cancellations to not using AC to preserve battery charge and what not.

If Uber acquires BluSmart, a good thing will be that they will expand it to more cities However, the downside is that BluSmart may also inherit Uber’s typical issues.

[ashis89]

Uber is an aggregator of cab owners or drivers. I wasn't aware of them owning any cabs themselves. BluSmart on the other hand, owns the EVs and hires the drivers. Why would Uber want to change their business model so drastically? Unless I am missing something.

[shankar.balan]

All I can say while holding my head in my hands is ‘Ayyo’. - Which, by the way, is an expression signifiying lament in Southern India.

I have found Blu Smart to be an excellent service. Clean cars. Decent drivers. No bad smells and all.

Whereas Uber in India is an absolutely distasteful experience which I seriously dislike. The same goes for OLA which is a few shades worse.

I had high hopes of Shoffr. But the inconsistencies and drop in quality has been apparent and tangible for the last 2 years.

It would be a really sorry situation were Blu Smart to get bought by Uber. Because then I believe that it too, will deteriorate horribly very soon just like the all the others mentioned above, did.

[BoneCollector]

As part of restructuring, BluSmart will be winding up its core business and become a fleet partner of Uber.

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[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

As part of restructuring, BluSmart will be winding up its core business and become a fleet partner of Uber.

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‘Game Over’ - with those nice clean cars and polite drivers will become a thing of the past.
I lament this. Because I really liked BluSmart.

[volkman10]

BluSmart denies reports of acquisition talks with Uber.

These reports have emerged amid liquidity issues faced by Gensol Engineering. However, BluSmart has denied any discussions with Uber.

Link:

[RM Motorsports]

India’s “clean” EV startup just got dirty.

BluSmart raised millions, branded itself as the future of green mobility.

But SEBI just revealed luxury condos, fund diversion & founder misuse.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...-12995674.html

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

India’s “clean” EV startup just got dirty.

BluSmart raised millions, branded itself as the future of green mobility.

But SEBI just revealed luxury condos, fund diversion & founder misuse.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...-12995674.html

For a long time, TheMorningContext (a long form business journalism site) has been writing about Gensol founder shenanigans. Now that this has happened, Gensol's reverse trike EV they showcased at Bharat Mobility Expo could also be a non-starter. That was a promising concept.

As an aside, I've been trying to wrap my head around BluSmart's EV operations for the better part of a year. The economics just don't seem to work. Cost of car + a paid driver + own charging hub etc (allied to low utilization: 5-6 trips per day) seems unviable. Sadly, with all these things tumbling it, the whole operation seems like a pump and dump scheme.

Cheers,

Jay

[blackwasp]

Same time last year, we had a thread (Financial viability of EVs for cab business) on same topic.

Looks like sadly, EV cab model doesn't work as expected. Agreed that there was some hanky-panky by the promotor, but deep down, the company not generating funds for itself is the underlying cause.

I'm also saddened by the fact that many such organisations end up burning cash which could have been transformative for small entrepreneurs. The worst part is they are burning someone else's money, not their own.

I think the government should take a tough stance on such start-ups that just burn money even years after their launch and have no ounce of profitability in sights. Not just the startups, but also their founders and key managerial persons so that they are not temped to start such companies again in the future.

[SidTheChamp]

While BluSmart seems to be a great company for customers with no unnecessary charging of customers while at the same time going green, it was 'too good' to be true and ultimately that's what happened.

The founders played with investors money and made their palace with it. Now that the company is suddenly shut down, investors in all probability lost their money but more importantly the livelihood of all the drivers associated with BluSmart is affected. How will they have their daily earning?

Another Byjus like scam but to a smaller scale