HYDERABAD: The first online self-drive car rental service provider Zoomcar is all set to launch its services in the city. At the outset, the service will press into action 30 cars. “We are starting with Figo, Amaze, Scorpio, Eco Sport and XUV. Luxury cars like Mercedes and BMW would be added later depending on the demand,” says Varun Reddy, marketing manager, Hyderabad.
How to book a car?
Like other car rental companies, Zoomcar gives you an option to rent a car on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. Cars can be booked either through the website www.zoomcar.com or by downloading the Zoomcar app that functions both on Android and iOS. The home page has the ‘pick up’ and ‘drop off’ date and time options. Once the ‘book a car’ option is selected, the wide range of cars available for the required period appears. From the list, one can select the car that suits your budget and purpose. The website also mentions the rate alongside each car. A mandatory sign up is required to proceed further. This can be done by using your email, Google Plus or Facebook account. Thereafter the payment gateway appears.
How much to pay?
Minimum billing is for four hours. There are variations in tariffs on weekdays (Monday to Thursday), weekends (Friday to Saturday) and in peak seasons. For example, for an hour-long booking of Figo on any weekdays, you will have to shell out Rs 80 and on weekends Rs 100 . Charges vary from car to car. Amaze can cost Rs 95, Honda City Rs 110, Scorpio Rs 110, Mercedes (A class) Rs 190 and BMW (B Series) Rs 200 on weekdays. These are the base fares applicable for 10 km for one hour of booking, followed by Rs 15 per km thereafter. Customers are, however, required to keep a caution deposit of Rs 5,000 with Zoomcar.
To simplify the calculation and to tell you how much you will incur cover on the basis of the car model and distance, a tariff calculator, is also available on the website.
What else?
The self-drive car rental service boasts of customer-friendly fuel policy. If you refuel the vehicle, you can get the amount reimbursed by submitting the bill. “With every hour of booking we provide 10 km of free fuel. If a car is booked for one day free fuel at the rate of 250 km will be given”, Varun explained.
All cars of Zoomcar are fully insured and in case a car breaks down, immediate assistance will also be provided. Further, since all the cars come have All India Permit, there is no restriction on where one can go. While the rental duration can be extended by making an additional payment of Rs 300 per hour, Zoomcar also offers perks for early returns -- 50 per cent of the credited amount will be reimbursed.
Zoomcar is likely to benefit the number of tourists visiting the city. Since all Zoomcar cars are GPS equipped, one can easily navigate through unfamiliar routes as well. However, young working populace, 18 and above, are their target group.
Known for its reckless driving and lack of traffic sense, Varun says handling the traffic-related issues in the city will be their biggest challenge. “We have learnt a lot from Bangalore in this regard and will try to use it to ensure smoother intra-city rides. Once the metro starts running, we expect the traffic congestion problem to reduce considerably,” Varun added.
Zoomcar which will launch on May 25, offers 30 per cent off for Hyderabadi’s first drive after successful drives in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.