Electric cars on rent to make life easier for commuters

Want to travel in the city by driving on your own? No need to own a vehicle. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

Want to travel in the city by driving on your own? No need to own a vehicle. Soon, an electric car will be available on rent just a phone call away.

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After facilities like radio autos and smart ride bus shuttle introduced by private players, a new self-driven ‘Rent-A-Reva’ service is now ready to provide on-demand intra-city transport service to residents of the Millennium City.

The new service, based on the concept of car-sharing, is a joint initiative by automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra and Gurgaon-based NGO Uthaan, which has already been running 23 soleckshaws (battery-run autorickshaws) in the city.

Sanjay Kaushik, president of Uthaan, said Mahindra & Mahindra’s electric car Reva will be available for rent.

The service follows the concept of Zipcar, a UK-based car- sharing firm, which provides vehicles to its members and charge them on hourly or daily basis.

“In addition to being pollution-free, the car is easy to drive and needs less space for parking. The scheme offers members on-demand availability of cars without having to wait for and haggle with a taxi or an auto rickshaw driver,” Kaushik said.

He said with two cars initially, the scheme will start from May 1 from either Sushant Estate or Maple Crescent.

According to the NGO, the project will be commercially launched with five-ten Reva cars.

“During the pilot run of 15 days, we will take feedback from users and decide on the subscription and usage charges. We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mahindra Reva for the same,” Kaushik said.

“We could also offer the service to corporates such as Unitech Cyber Park or Hotel Ibis with which we are in talks,” he said.

The operator has launched helpline 9811175332/ 9313175332 to invite subscriptions for the scheme from residents, corporate houses or hotels.

According to the NGO, the scheme will be successful in a fast-developing city like Gurgaon, where commuting through heavy traffic is a major challenge. “The sky is the limit in a city like Gurgaon that lacks proper public transport. We, too, can expect to reach the level of Zipcar that has a fleet of more than 8,000 vehicles throughout the US and the UK and has over 5.6 lakh members called Zipsters,” Kaushik added.