 "Evera Cabs")
All electric cab-hailing service Evera has started taking possession of cars previously operated by BluSmart. This comes after BluSmart suspended services in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and the National Capital Region (NCR) last month. Evera has already taken possession of 220 BluSmart cabs and will soon acquire 280 more. The Delhi-based startup plans to acquire 1,000 BluSmart cars in all.
Evera sees BluSmart’s exit as an opportunity to solidify its position as an electric cab service provider. “The resulting market gap has created an opportunity for Evera to step in and meet the growing demand for dependable electric cab services, ensuring service continuity while rapidly expanding its presence across the NCR and key airport corridors,” the company said in a press release.
The company currently caters to a range of corporate clients in the business-to-business (B2B) segment, while its business-to-consumer (B2C) operations are focused on airport-centric travel. With the addition of new cars, Evera plans to double down on its airport network expansion.
According to Nimish Trivedi, cofounder and chief executive officer, Evera, the company previously operated only from Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport and has increased its base at the terminal. He said that the company is looking to start services from Terminal 1 as well.
“The airport (pick-and-drop) is a huge business available right now and we want to understand and cater to that business,” Trivedi told Business Standard. The company said that taking possession of BluSmart cars through lenders is part of a multi-stage strategic plan to reinforce its footprint in NCR’s high-demand airport cab sector.
Nearly 80 per cent of Evera’s business is focused on B2B. The remaining 20 per cent is B2C. In the latter segment, the company currently has a customer base of 25,000-30,000. “In the B2C airport service, we are doing 200 trips a day. This number should go up on a daily basis, and (be) somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 trips in a day by the end of this quarter,” Trivedi said.
Trivedi added that institutions that had leased the cars to BluSmart earlier are now leasing the same cars to his company. “The banks or high net-worth individuals (HNIs) who had given these cars (to BluSmart), those banks, NBFCs (non-banking financial companies), HNIs, family offices, have taken these cars back and further leased them to us,” he said.
On the company’s plan to acquire 1,000 cars, Trivedi said, “We are talking to multiple lenders who have smaller exposure of about 100-200 cars. In fact, there are lenders who have given out 10 cars as well.”
Apart from cars, Evera is also absorbing some drivers who used to work at BluSmart. “A large chunk of BluSmart drivers are queuing up to join Evera, 10 per cent of them women. About 150 drivers have been hired quickly and we may need 150-200 more drivers,” Trivedi added.
On May 4, BluSmart drivers staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, one of their key demands being that any company that acquires BluSmart or its assets should retain the workforce.
Evera, like BluSmart, claims to provide zero-cancellation and surge-free rides. The company marked a closure of its pre-Series A funding round at $7 million in March 2023.
All about Evera
> Delhi-based cab-hailing startup founded in 2019
> Owned by Prakriti Mobility
25,000-30,000: Existing customer base
200: Trips per day
1,500-2,000: Expected trips by June 2025
450 EVs: Current fleet size
