NEW DELHI: French startup BlaBlaCar, which has become the world’s largest long-distance ride-sharing community on the back of deteriorating public transport systems across the world, is launching in India on Wednesday.
Backed by European and US venture capital firms, including Index Ventures and Accel Partners, BlaBlaCar will connect car owners and co-travellers to travel together on city-to-city journeys and share the cost of the journey.
For starters, BlaBlaCar (a play on in-car babble between driver and passengers) plans to cash in on the 3.5 lakh people visiting the Jaipur Literature Fest slated to be held between January 21 and 25 reports the Times Of India.
A person driving from Delhi to Jaipur , for instance with empty seats can post that fact on BlaBlaCar’s website after checking in through his Facebook profile. Others travelling to Jaipur can hook up with him and travel together. “A trip like that would cost around Rs 700 per person,” says Raghav Gupta, country manager India with BlaBlaCar. “The company controls the rates in such a way that the car owner/driver cannot earn a profit. The earnings may just cover the fuel costs. This will keep commercial players including taxi operators at bay.”
Last year, Index Ventures and Accel Partners pumped $100 million into BlaBlaCar, making it one of the largest venture investments in a French startup. India is the 14th country and the only Asian nation to become a member of the International BlaBlaCar community. Next on the company’s radar is Brazil and Mexico. “India could become a bigger market than Europe since car-ownership is rising quickly and the country does not have a well-developed public transport system connecting cities,” Nicolas Brusson co-founder and COO of BlaBlaCar told the Times Of India.
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