Author: Muskaan Gupta
Shared rides seemed tailor-made for India’s congested cities. Yet, economics, trust and regulation kept the idea from scaling.
There are few ideas that align as neatly with India’s urban realities as carpooling. Yet, a decade on, the service exists largely at the margins.
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“In India, shared mobility is driven by price sensitivity, as opposed to Western markets where convenience was the main driver,” explains Kunal Khattar, founder, Advantedge Founders. “We saw a majority of potential customers who also wanted the comfort of a car but could not afford the Rs 300 price point. In their budget, they found better value elsewhere: bike taxis at Rs 50 or three-wheelers at Rs 150. Ultimately, the four-wheeler model couldn't compete with the superior unit economics and convenience of two- and three-wheelers.”
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