Online cab hailing company Meru has launched a new ride sharing feature “CarPool” on its mobile app for commuters across India. The company has partnered with Paytm to complete the cash-less payment at the end of the trip.
“The top 20 cities alone have over 12 million cars and the opportunity is to bring them on a popular and trusted platform like Meru. The CarPool initiative aims to encourage a simple act of reducing the one-person per vehicle issue through a communal effort of sharing a ride with another person headed in the same direction while offering convenience and economy of travel,” said Siddhartha Pahwa, CEO, Meru Cabs.
Currently, only Android users can opt for the CarPool service which requires commuters to sign in through
Facebook. Meru doesn’t plan to charge any commission at this point of time from users until the service expands
and the car-pooling network is stabilised.
The company claims to have registered 10,000 users who are willing to offer seats in their vehicle.
Amit Lakhotia, vice-president, Paytm, said, “This would help consumers reduce travel costs significantly as well as
reduce the stress involved in travel. For some, it would help in building new acquaintances as well. Sharing economy has been growing well across the globe and we expect Indian consumers to latch on to the same. Paytm, being the default choice of wallet for Indians, is glad to be a partner in providing seamless and secure payment flow.”