Interview | Reliability Is The Biggest Gap In India's Cab Market: Trevel Co-Founder Sahil Jindal

Our model is very different from that of Ola, Uber and Rapido. They follow an aggregator model in which the fleet is not directly controlled by the platform. Drivers can register themselves and use their own vehicles.

This makes it difficult for aggregators to control driver behaviour, vehicle quality, cleanliness and ride cancellations. We identified reliability as the biggest gap in the market. According to a survey I came across, the proportion of users experiencing cab cancellations increased from 72% in 2023 to 82% in 2025. This means customers often have to deal with multiple cancellations before securing a ride. I have also come across people who have faced several cancellations and even missed flights as a result.

As for our decision to go all-electric, sustainability is one of the biggest advantages. The government is also increasingly supporting electric mobility across two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Electric vehicles offer other advantages as well. Since there is no CNG cylinder in the boot, passengers get more luggage space. The absence of a transmission hump also provides a flatter rear-seat floor, making it more comfortable for three passengers. EVs also offer quieter cabins.

Safety is another major focus for us. Since we manage the vehicles and drivers ourselves, we can maintain greater control over the service. Our cars are equipped with AI-based cameras that monitor 28 parameters, including whether the driver is yawning, using a phone, smoking, wearing a seat belt or driving rashly.

We have completed approximately 30,000-35,000 rides so far without cancelling a booking from our end. We also do not levy rain-related surcharges. We charge by the kilometre rather than by time, so customers do not face the kind of fare spikes that are common during heavy rainfall or traffic congestion.

We are seeing a significant increase in bookings during peak hours and rainy days. At times, we are fully booked and unable to accommodate additional customers. That is a good problem to have, but it also shows that we need to expand our fleet.

We have an AI-based camera system with two cameras. One faces the road, while the other focuses on the driver inside the vehicle.

The system continuously records footage, which is retained for seven days before the older data is overwritten. We do not want to retain data for longer than necessary, in line with our privacy policy.

If the driver is talking on the phone, for instance, the camera detects it and sends an alert to our command centre. If the system detects rash driving, it also issues an audio warning to the driver. It can alert the driver about a vehicle ahead and notify the command centre about potential violations. We receive alerts across all 28 parameters that the system monitors.

In April, we had approximately 15-20 cars and were completing around three to four rides per car per day. We currently have 60 cars and are doing around six rides per car per day.

As we add more vehicles, the number of rides increases because we can position cars across different parts of Gurugram. This reduces the distance vehicles travel without passengers and helps us get better utilisation out of the fleet.

Our average order value is currently around ₹550 per ride.

We are prioritising scale at this stage. Our target is to reach 300 cars by the end of March 2027, and we are currently raising funds to support this expansion.

Of our 60 cars, nine are owned by us and 51 are leased. Going forward, we want to maintain an ownership-to-lease ratio of approximately 20:80 to remain asset-light.

All our drivers are managed directly by us and work on monthly contracts. They receive a fixed payment along with performance-based incentives.

These incentives are linked to parameters such as the number of five-star ratings they receive, the number of trips completed on time and whether the vehicle is kept clean.

We also have small penalties for certain lapses. Ultimately, the drivers are the ones delivering the service and customer experience. We can establish standards at the management level, but it is important to ensure that drivers follow them consistently.

Yes, we have a quality-control system. In the event of an accident, for instance, we use the onboard cameras to determine whether the driver was at fault.

There are also smaller penalties, generally ranging from ₹100 to ₹200, depending on the nature of the lapse. We do not impose large penalties on drivers simply because an accident has occurred. The objective is to ensure that drivers remain careful and maintain service standards.

Our repeat-booking rate has increased from around 60% in April to approximately 82% currently. It fluctuates slightly from month to month but generally remains around 80%.

The biggest reason is that customers feel safe in our vehicles and trust that we will turn up once a booking is confirmed. We are positioned between Uber Premium and Uber Black in terms of pricing. We are not excessively expensive, but we focus on providing a better service experience.

We have also not cancelled a single ride from our end so far. This reliability is one of the reasons customers return.

We are primarily a B2C company, but we also have corporate tie-ups that operate on a B2B2C model. Companies partner with us, while their employees book rides themselves. At present, the split is approximately 50:50 between corporate-linked and other bookings. We have also been seeing growing interest from corporates because of the feedback they have received about our punctuality and trained drivers.

From the beginning, our objective has been to make customers feel as though they are travelling in their own cars rather than in a cab. We want drivers to open the door, greet passengers and provide a comfortable experience.

We also have customers who trust our drivers to pick up and drop off their children, including children aged eight, 10 and 12, without an accompanying adult. That reflects the level of confidence some customers have developed in our service.

We conduct driver training every week. Even experienced drivers undergo refresher training because we want them to consistently understand the standards and values that Trevel stands for.

Our dashcams also play an important role in maintaining service quality.

We are exploring a feature that would allow customers to receive a live video feed of a journey directly on their phones when they book a cab for their parents or children. We are still working on how to implement it. If launched, this would be an additional paid service because streaming video would involve data costs.

We also focus on basic amenities. Our cars are kept clean and equipped with charging cables, water bottles and tissue boxes. Drivers are trained to greet customers and open the car door for them.

For us, maintaining these small details is an important part of the overall experience.

We are not a mass-market brand; we are a mass-premium brand.

We become profitable at eight rides per car per day. We expect to reach that level through scale. Once we have around 300 cars, we believe we can complete eight to 10 rides per vehicle per day, which would move us towards profitability.

We are not trying to compete with entry-level services such as Uber Go or Rapido. Our closest competitor is Uber Black. On normal days, our fares are around 20-30% lower than Uber Black. During rain or heavy traffic, the difference can be considerably higher because we do not impose surge or time-based charges.

When BluSmart entered the market in 2019, the EV ecosystem was still at an early stage. Charging infrastructure was limited and there were fewer vehicle options. BluSmart also invested significantly in setting up its own charging infrastructure.

Today, the situation is different. There are several charging-point operators and hubs that provide charging services on a per-unit basis or through monthly minimum guarantees. We do not need to invest heavily in setting up our own charging stations.

The technology ecosystem has also evolved. Cloud infrastructure and automation have made several processes more efficient, reducing the manpower required to manage operations.

Vehicle technology has improved as well. Earlier, vehicles such as the Tata Tigor offered a range of around 100-120 km on a single charge. We now use MG and Kia vehicles that offer ranges of approximately 265-400 km, depending on the model. They also support fast charging, reducing the time vehicles spend away from operations.

We use slow charging over weekends when demand is lower, as it helps maintain battery health.

BluSmart provided a reliable service, and many customers still tell me they miss it. We want to build on that proposition and improve the experience through better vehicles, customer service and technology.

The biggest challenge for a new company is access to credit. Banks, leasing partners and other institutions are often reluctant to extend credit to startups without an established track record. This means raising equity becomes particularly important.

We have raised around $1 million so far, which helped us build our technology and expand the fleet from around 20 to 60 cars. Capital availability can slow down expansion, but we are currently fundraising. We believe this will help us reach 300 cars and provide us with a runway of around 12-16 months.

Acquiring vehicles has been the biggest challenge.

BluSmart had a large pool of around 10,000-12,000 drivers in Delhi-NCR. We were fortunate to onboard several of them, many of whom were already trained. We provided them with additional training to align them with our service standards.

Technology has also been relatively straightforward for us. There are several charging-point operators today, and we regularly receive proposals from companies offering charging services at competitive rates. We have also identified the vehicles that work best for our model, including the MG Windsor and Kia models.

Acquiring enough cars, however, has not been as easy as we initially expected. We are working towards overcoming that challenge and reaching the scale we have planned.

We have learnt a lot since starting the business and continue to experiment with our operations and marketing.

Initially, we operated with a system that required customers to book a car around an hour in advance. Over time, we realised that demand patterns differ between morning and evening commutes.

People generally plan their morning journeys because they have to reach the office at a particular time. Evening departures, however, are less predictable. Employees may leave at 6 pm, 6.30 pm or 7 pm depending on their work.

We realised that our pre-booking model was limiting evening demand. We have therefore started experimenting with instant bookings in selected locations, or hotspots. Our technology is equipped to handle these requests, and we are currently generating around 20-30 instant rides through this experiment. Customers can get a car in approximately five minutes.

Once we reach 300 cars, we expect to have vehicles positioned across more locations in Gurugram. This should improve availability, increase instant bookings and help us move towards profitability.

We want to expand to other cities in India, with a long-term target of operating in at least 15-20 cities over the next 10-15 years.

However, we believe we must first solve the mobility problem in one city before moving elsewhere. Our immediate target is to reach around 1,000 cars in Delhi-NCR. Only after achieving that scale do we plan to expand to cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai.

Before BluSmart entered the market, my co-founder and I had already started discussing the possibility of building an electric vehicle fleet. Initially, we considered entering the premium segment with five to 10 BMW iX1 vehicles and catering to CXOs and customers who could afford a more expensive service.

However, when BluSmart's troubles emerged, we saw an opportunity to enter the market with a different proposition.

I was a regular BluSmart customer, particularly for airport transfers and travel at odd hours. I valued its reliability and realised that many other customers probably felt the same way.

We also felt there was a larger problem with the existing cab experience. People often do not feel comfortable travelling alone at night, and there are concerns about vehicle cleanliness and driver behaviour. We wanted to build a service that customers could trust when booking rides for their children, spouses or parents.

Our objective is to become the first choice for customers who prioritise safety and reliability.

No. I am involved in Trevel in my personal capacity, and the business has no financial involvement from my family. However, the family name and network have helped me build connections and get things done more quickly.