[ad93611]

In Bangalore, rickshaw fares have been going up, while cab fares have been going down in the past few years. Currently, it costs Rs.13 per KM for a rickshaw[1] and it costs exactly the same, Rs.13 per KM, for a small cab[2] during the day in Bangalore. During the night, rickshaw is 50% more expensive than using a cab.

A cab is clearly a more comfortable ride than a rickshaw. I don't see how the rickshaw business will continue to operate and grow under these conditions.

Cab services have been growing steadily though.

[1] - http://www.taxiautofare.com/taxi-fare-card/Bengaluru-Auto-fa...

[2] - http://www.olacabs.com/fares/bangalore

[kamaal]

My father is a cab driver and your Math is way off course. In order to break even, Cab drivers and most travel agencies offering cab services use a mix of fare systems. If you are hiring a cab for a day, the cab fares are mixture of 'time' and 'distance'. For example, there is a minimum half day charge for 4 hours or 40 kilometer, or multiples of that plus any additional billing for extra kilometers driven.

Tourist cabs are charged separately.

Autos are far far cheaper than any cab you can hire. But the margin of profit in Autos is way less, so the general quality suffers.

The reason your Meru's, Ola's or even Uber can offer cabs for so cheap is they raise enough money to operate on losses. Bankruptcy is pretty common in this business. Every time I talk to my father about a new cheap travel scheme, he only asks me to wait for their imminent demise.

We've been in this business for quite some while to understand how this stuff works. If you wish to understand how sustainable cab business work, have a talk with the office cab drivers. You will get a peek into the life of people who sleep for barely 5 hrs/day and drive 300Km/day to make a living on 12000 rupees a month. All while charging a good deal to travel agencies.

Autos are going to make a killing. If you are thinking you are going to invest your way in to this market, then you are going to be in for a surprise.

There is a saying in my native tongue(urdu): "If you wish to destroy a person's life, get him to start a travel business'.

[ad93611]

The Math is correct. Those are the current prices. You are saying that Olacab like companies are able to afford to have low prices because they have investor money to operate at a loss. That may be true too. Yes, it will be interesting to see who can hold on for longer.

We have a reached a stage where rickshaws and cabs are competing for the same market segment, within the city.

[kamaal]

I have seen at least 3-4 cycles of travel companies going bankrupt in as little as the last decade. The general attitude is that they think once they acquire monopoly by offering cheaper fares, then they can charge what ever they feel like.

But the story always is every time they get close to even say 5-10% of the market share some launches a competing service. By then you have lost too much money to make any thing meaningful out of it.

>>We have a reached a stage where rickshaws and cabs are competing for the same market segment, within the city.

If money isn't a concern for you, then that is true. But for anything less than 40 km of travel or a 4 hour hire, Autos will win by a big margin.

[hideo]

I've noticed a few things that seem to differentiate autos and taxis. Perhaps I'm overestimating their importance, and these are definitely just anecdotes and not data, but these might be worth considering:

- Relationships. Almost everyone I know who has stayed in one city/area for more than 4-5 years has the phone numbers of a few auto drivers they trust. These are the first who are likely to get a call when they have time and need to make a quick trip to a friends house or the grocery store. OTOH, while The same goes for cabs, they tend to have the numbers of a local cab company, not the driver. The cab company gets a call only for longer trips; typically the ones that lead out of town.

- Trust. Ties in with above, people are wary of unknown auto/cab drivers. I know a lot of people >40 tend to prefer calling someone they know rather than flagging down an unknown auto/cab, more so late at night.

- Roads and weather. I know a few places where driving in a car is almost impossible. The roads are just too narrow to allow it. Perhaps not a large market for cabs but one heavily trafficked by autos.

- Regional culture variations. Bangaloreans in my circles tend to prefer autos, while Mumbaikars prefer cabs. Delhi folks almost always prefer to drive.

My point being I'd love to see companies like this adapt to these variations. I'd personally prefer to call an auto guy I know who works with this service, and then fall back to someone else if he's busy. Or bump me to a cab company if the distance is too far. Perhaps give my family a way to track me on pickup and drop if I'm heading in to the shadier parts of town.

I think they will coexist.

[rahimnathwani]

Are taxis as fast as rickshaws, even in heavy traffic?

[datacog]

3 wheels and a handle (instead of steering) gives them a serious advantage.

Unrelated: Any non-Indian visiting India should definitely try a Rickshaw ride once, you'll feel scary good experience.

[kanwisher]

I know in Bangkok, its a lot of tourists that ride the Tuk Tuks, maybe its the same thing in rickshaws?

[rikacomet]

almost, but the driver mentality is different, due to difference in traffic structures. The Tuk Tuk is on the peppy side of things. The Autorickshaw[different from just 'Rickshaw'] is more enclosed, personal ride most of the time.