Jugnoo forays into taxi-hailing space
SoCoMo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs online autorickshaw aggregator Jugnoo, launched a cab service on Sunday, entering a segment dominated by firms, including Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd) and Uber Technologies Inc.
The service, Jugnoo Cabs, is currently available in Gurugram, and will be expanded to other cities, the company said.
Jugnoo’s entry into the taxihailing space was anticipated after it acquired cab booking platform BookMyCab in July 2015. Before its takeover, BookMyCab operated a fleet of 2,000 cabs in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Jugnoo, which also delivers food and grocery through its autorickshaw partners, expects cab drivers to move to its platform following the withdrawal of driver incentives by both Ola and Uber. “We analysed the issues faced by taxi drivers of late and have come up with a strategy to provide taxi services at prices where drivers do not work at artificially lower rates than their costs,” co-founder and COO Chinmay Agarwal said in a statement.
The Chandigarh-based startup said fares on its platform will be higher than those offered by Ola and Uber. Currently, it runs callan-auto service Jugnoo Auto; delivers meals, groceries and toiletries under Jugnoo Menus, Jugnoo Fresh and Jugnoo Grocery; and runs a business-to-business parcel delivery service, Jugnoo Delivery. Last July, it acquired online fruits and vegetables store SabKuchFresh for an undisclosed amount and re-christened its grocery service Fatafat.
Jugnoo claims to cover 40 cities with its service and to have 12,000 auto-rickshaws on its platform.
In April last year, financial services firm Paytm (One97 Communications Pvt Ltd) invested $5 million in the company as part of a $10-million series B round.
THE SERVICE, JUGNOO CABS, IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN GURUGRAM. THE COMPANY ALREADY RUNS CALLANAUTO SERVICE, JUGNOO AUTO