Wagon Cabs: A threat for Ola, Uber?

Pay the right fare for your cab

There’s a saying that great ideas are born often at the commonest of places. Arpan Aggarwal, 28, an entrepreneur realised this truth pretty early in life. Earlier this year, while traveling in a cab, he was struck by an idea. And that very thought led on to some deeper enquiries. It all eventually resulted in the upstart Wagon Cabs. Incorporated in April 2017, their services started on October 28 and aimed to take on Ola, Uber.

In a candid chat Aggarwal explains Larry Bradley the model for Wagon Cabs. Also how he wants to create a brand that is a win-win situation for both the drivers and the customers.

Eureka moment:

It was early 2017. I had booked a cab to travel home from work. It was the peak office hours. I had to pay 2.5 times the usual fare. And voila! I got an idea.

Arpan Agarwal

I realised that lead cab aggregators like Ola and Uber ares charging customers several times the advertised fares. Customers are hence inconvenienced. They spend time in comparing which segment to travel in, how much will it charge and search for coupons to pay less. This is a pain point that needed to be addressed.

I believed I could come up with a solution soon. And who knows? I am confident that I could take on market leaders, Ola, Uber. Despite the naysayers I am firm with my resolve.

Wagon Cabs has a model wherein the customers could avail the same service at a lesser amount without any coupon or hidden charges. From a driver’s point of view, current aggregators are charging high commissions, fixing daily targets and having a payment deduction mechanism in place. In our case drivers will end up paying less than 20 per cent of what they pay to established players. Instant payments from customers also provide ease to run their livelihood.

We at Wagon Cabs provide pocket-friendly service to our customers without a search for any unnecessary coupons. Flat rate and ease of booking makes us unique and stand out from competition. Capturing more customers from corporate parks, shopping malls, airports and railway stations in Delhi/NCR is our primary target. So we give the customer service and convenience at no extra cost.

Money matters

Our business model is simple. Wagon Cabs is working on a subscription model with drivers @₹100/day/driver to be paid on monthly basis i.e. ₹3,000/month/driver. We are operating with 1,250 drivers as of today and will be expanding it to 5,000 within six months. We expect to generate a revenue of around ₹3.75Cr in that period. We are investing our own money till now and seeking an investment of ₹2.5 Cr from a VC for technology advancement, operations and marketing.

We are planning to expand in Delhi/NCR by the end of current financial year with around 7,500 Cabs along with IOS App. We are aiming to capture some of the market share from current big players.

For an entrepreneur, there is no dream too big. Wagon Cabs is poised for an interesting ride ahead.

Do you think pricing is the only issue concerning cab services like Ola, Uber? Do share your experience.