Hailing a Cab-e, this eco-friendly ride-sharing startup is ready to metamorphose Mumbai

• ByStartupStory     |    October 26, 2021

““You have to be doggedly behind that [your] belief and you should not get derailed because of some difficulties. If the belief is there that you can create a world-class company, you will create a world-class company. You have to be behind it everyday, every hour till you’ve achieved your vision,” proclaimed Cab-e Cars co-founder and CEO Kuldip Ghosh in an exclusive interview with Startup Story Media.

It’s been a few years since ride-sharing has taken the world by storm. It’s quite easy to download a mobile application and simply let go of most worries related to hailing a cab or an auto. One worry that sadly remains, however, is the environmental cost involved. A 2020 report by non-profit advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientists, found that a solo-ride hailing trip emits 50 percent more carbon dioxide than other private vehicles.

Mumbai-based Cab-e Cars aims to mitigate the hefty sum the environment pays every time someone books a fossil-fuel run vehicle to commute. Founded in December 2019 by Kuldip Ghosh, Indraneel Chakravarty, and Nitin Sharma, Cab-e is a ride-sharing startup based on the idea of urban mobility through electric vehicles (EVs).

Schoolmates to business partners

Co-founders Kuldip Ghosh and Indraneel Chakravarty first met as students attending a boarding school in Darjeeling. The two were quick to develop a friendship and spent the years of their primary and secondary education as close companions. As they grew older and began their careers, they each held onto the desire to work on a project with the other. Mid-2019, the pair along was finally able to realise that dream.

“The idea fructified into something serious in May 2019, the day the election results were coming out. We met at a common friend’s place and we were watching the election result where we decided why don’t we do something together in the clean energy space,” recollected Ghosh

After deciding to do something in the clean energy sector along with gaining inspiration from the government’s focus on electric vehicles, the pair along with Nitin Sharma a graduate from  IIT – Delhi  came up with the idea of Cab-e Cars, an environment-friendly solution to ride-sharing.

Before Cab-e cabs could hit the streets, the co-founders set out to understand the lacunae present in the current ride-sharing ecosystem. They realised that the current business model, not only contributes to environmental degradation but also fails to provide both customers and cab drivers with an appropriate amount of value.

Kuldip added, “We wanted to create a business model that made economic, environmental, and social sense together.”

What they then came up with was a business model based on four core beliefs. Firstly, they wanted to promote urban mobility through the medium of EVs. Secondly they wanted to improve the quality of life for their cab managers- with a better work-life balance and higher pay. Thirdly, they wanted to provide customers value-for-money in the form of a flat revenue rate that is 20-25 percent cheaper than other competing platforms. And finally, the startup aims to bring about the largest network of private charging stations in the country.

Overcoming COVID-19

“I’m sure the exodus will happen onto our platform once they see the value they are getting,” stated Ghosh.

Cab-e came into being right on the precipice of the COVID-19 pandemic. WIthin three months, the country was on lockdown and the taxi industry was taking a severe hit. However, despite the hurdles in front of them, Cab-e continued to grow slowly. The entirely bootstrapped company was able to launch its mobile application in September 2020 which was met with over a lakh downloads. Today, the company has over 75000 active users who enjoy Cab-e’s excellent service.

Cab-e is looking to expand in the near future, after the pandemic settles. Once this startup, with its staunch belief in ethicality and environment-consciousness, takes over Mumbai other major cities are soon to follow.

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