PROJECT REPORT

(Submitted for the degree of B.Com Honours in

PROJECT REPORT
Accounting & Finance under the University of Calcutta)

( Submitted for the degree of B.Com Honours in Accounting and

Finance under THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA )
Topic -> COMPARATIVE STUDY ON ONLINE CAB
BOOKING
Project Title – Comparative SERVICES
Study On Online Cab Booking
Services

Submitted
Name of theby:candidate –> AARON SINGH
Name of the Candidate -> Aaron Singh
Registration Number(C.U)-> 017-1111-0473-17
Registration No. -> 017-1111-0473-17
Roll Number(C.U) -> 171017-21-0013

CU Roll No. -> 171017-21-0013

Name ofName
College the College
-> THE-> BHAWANIPUR
The Bhawanipur EDUCATION
Education Society
SOCIETY
College
COLLEGE

Supervised by:
Name of the Supervisor
Supervisor's -> Prof.
Name -> Prof. IpsitaIpsita Chatterjee
Chatterjee

Name of the College -> The Bhawanipur Education Society

College

and
Month & Year
Year ofof Submission
Submission ->-> March
June, 2020
2020

1
ANNEXURE : 1A

Supervisor's Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. AARON SINGH, a student of B.Com Honours in Accouting and Finance
in business of THE BHAWANIPUR EDUCATION SOCIETY COLLEGE under the University of
Calcutta has worked under my supervision and guidance for his project work and prepared a Project
Report with the title “Comparative Study On Online Cab Booking Services” which he is submitting,
is his genuine and original work to the best of my knowledge.

Signature-
Place - Kolkata

Date - Name- Prof. Ipsita Chatterjee

Designation- Lecturer

Name of College- The Bhawanipur

Education Scoiety College

2
ANNEXURE: 1B

Student's Declaration

I hereby declare that the Project Work with the title “Comparative Study On Online Cab Booking
Services” submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the degree of B.Com Honours in
Accounting and Finance in business under the University of Calcutta is my original work and has
not been submitted earlier to any other University/Institution for the fulfillment of the requirement
for any course of study.

I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part has been incorporated in this
report from any earlier work done by others or by me.However, extracts of any literature which has
been used for this report has been duly acknowledged providing details of such literature in the
references.

Signature-
Place - Kolkata

Date - Name- Aaron Singh

Address- 19/B, Ananda Palit Road,Kolkata- 700 014

Registration No.- 017-1111-0473-17

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank the University of Calcutta and the principal of my college for giving me an
oppourtunity to work on this project. I am very glad that I got to choose my topic of interest under
the guidance of my supervisor Prof. Ipsita Chatterjee, without whose time and efforts this project
wouldn't have been nearly possible.I would like to thank her for being my mentor for this project. I
am also very grateful to our Co-ordinator of B.Com(M), Dr. Divyesh Shah under whose guidance
this project was possible. I would like to thank all the other teachers who have taken their time and
energy to explain to us this project, the proper way to prepare it, the do's and don'ts,and many other
helpful information which helped me to complete this research efficiently .

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 INDEX

Chapter Unit Particulars Page No.

1 Introduction 7 - 15

1.1 Background of the Study 9

1.2 Need of the Study 10

1.3 Objective of the Study 11

1.4 Limitations of the Study 12

1.5 Literature Review 13

1.6 Research Methodology 15

2 Conceptual Framework 16 - 28

2.1 Description of Companies Involved 16

2.2 Advantages of Online Cab Booking Services 21

2.3 Disadvantages of Online Cab Booking Services 22

2.4 National Scenario 24

2.5 International Scenario 26

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3 Data Analysis and Findings 29 - 48

3.1 Data and Analysis 29

3.2 Findings 47

4 Conclusion and Recommendation 49

4.1 Conclusion 49

4.2 Recommendation 49

5 Bibliography 50

6 Annexure 51 - 55

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

India is a developing nation and also with this on-going development, the standard of living of the
middle class people has raised leading to an increase in the wants and needs of this middle class.
Not all people from this middle class background have the ability to buy personal vehicles for
travelling hence they highly depend on Public Transport Services. One of the most important source
of Public Transport Services are the Taxis which are used by lakhs of Indian citizens every day to
commute to their workplace, go to shopping with their family, go to places for holidays, go to the
airport and the list continues.

Focusing on getting cabs for short distances within a particular city or for going to the airport or
from the airport to some particular place, it was very inconvenient until a few years ago. However,
since the online cab services have entered in the Taxi market, through the use of technology like
mobile apps to book these cabs the situation has totally changed in India.This online cab market
has grown so enormously that the number of these radio cabs is much more than that of yellow
taxis.According to a study dine by Sunstone Business School, the online cab booking market has
grown with almost more than 15000 cabs with large multi-city operators like Meru Cabs, Ola, Uber
etc. Holding around 70% market share along with several other new operators in the several cities.
Despite this tremendous growth in the last few years, the radio cabs are just a minuscule portion of
the entire private taxi operators in the cities. For example, in Mumbai though the number of radio
cab offering is less than 10% of the overall market share, the demand of these cabs has been rising
with the rise in the middle class as even they seek better transport.

Radio cab operators have shifted from catering to just airport pickups and drop-offs to providing
commuting services in large cities from one point to another. These radio cab operators usually earn
between 30-50% of their revenue from the airport pickup and drop-off services they provide. But
with the increase in the demand of these radio cabs within the city for point-to-point commuting,

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rising fares of the public transport and the parking fare at the airports, these radio cab operators are
looking for new ways to cater to point-to-point commuting demand such as on demand cabs using
the smartphones having mobile apps for booking the cabs. The Taxi market is slowly beginning to
see the emergence of the aggregation models from the new as well as the existing operators in the
point-to-point commuting segment. New operators have now debuted as powerful players such as
Meru Cabs, Tax, Taxi for Sure and Ola Cabs who are supported by Venture Capitalist firms like
Inventus Capital, Accel Partners, Tiger Global Management, Helion and Blume are now becoming a
threat to the Public Taxi market as these operators are providing the customers with far more better
services like on demand booking of taxi using the mobile apps, Taxis having GPS so that the
customer can track the cab in real-time, cabs that are more comfortable and safe as compared to the
Yellow/Black Taxis. The following study will help us understand the impact of these online cab
services on the indian public and the nation as a whole.

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Unit 1.1

Background of the Study

The cab market in India is growing rapidly with a lot of new entrants who run private cab
companies apart from the existing public yellow/black taxi market. The public taxi market consists
of taxis that are too old with very little comfort and safety, while on the other hand the cabs in the
private cab market are modern along with features like GPS, more comfort and safety.There are a
handful of companies who provide these online cab booking services like Uber, Ola, Meru Cabs
etc.Therefore to study which online cab service is prefered by the people of India,I have carried out
this research by using specific variables. These variables have been taken into account considering
the usual factors that a customer might think of while thinking hiring an online booked cab . So
according to the variables considered,a framework was formed along with a specific survey method
which is in this case a primary survey. A questionnaire was prepared with the help of which data
was collected about the preference and comparison of three online cab sevice giants in India namely
Uber, Ola and Meru Cabs through a survey filled by people of which most of them happen to be my
friends and relatives. The data collected was analyzed using the in-site algorithm of Google Forms
and the required pie-charts, histograms and bar graphs were prepared accordingly in Excel sheet.

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Unit 1.2

Need of the Study

It is true that India is still a developing country, as compared to other highly developed nations like
Japan, America, China. India still stands by far. And here a proper online cab booking service can
be very affective in accelerating the growth of the Indian economy and save time. While there has
been an emerging market of online cab services in India, it is essential for more of such services to
come into play in order to increase competition and innovation. This study is needed in order to find
out which online cab service is prefered the most by the masses and for what reasons and what
affect it has on the traditional yellow/black taxis. This study would also give us a general
understanding of what the future online cab booking companies need to take into consideration to
enter this competition and what services and benefits should they provide to their customers in
order to make them achieve maximum satisfaction. More entry of such companies is good for the
overall economy of the country.

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Unit 1.3

Objective of the Study

The following are the objectives of this study -

 To provide a description of the three online cab booking services i.e, Uber, Ola and Meru
Cabs which are to be used for this survey.

 To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these online cab booking services .

 To discuss the impact and effects of these online cab booking services in India and worldwide.

 To find out via survey that which online cab booking service is the most popular and prefered by
the people.

 To find out whether people still prefer the traditional yellow/black taxi services in presence of
these online cab booking services like Uber, Ola and Meru Cabs.

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Unit 1.4

Limitations of the Study

The following are the points which specify the limitations of the study -

 Inaccuracy of data : The data has been collected from various sources yet it may not be
accurate.

 Time constraint : Time constraint was a major problem in terms of collecting data from 50
respondents.

 Misinformation of respondent : The data may and may not be 100% accurate because
there are possibilities of improper responses from the
respondent.

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Unit 1.5

Literature Review

• Rahman (2014) - Call taxi system in India has grown significantly in India and
infrastructure growth, growth of middle class, increasing disposable incomes and growing
GDP are some of the factors responsible. The rise of the BPO industry is one of the reason
to growth of this sector because of odd working hours. This growth can be seen more in
metropolitan cities of India and there is intense competition among various operators like
Ola, Uber, Radio cabs, Yellow cabs and Meru etc.

• Lu (2015) – His study suggested that self- service mobile technologies give control to
commuters to access lot of information with the help of technology.

• Horsu and Yeboah (2015) – They have revealed in their study that driver behavior have
negative correlation on customer satisfaction in Ghana.

• Paronda (2016) – Their study identified the key performance indicators of conventional
taxis which includes reliability, travel speed, passenger expenses and quality of service.
Study based on surveys for 30 days concluded that Uber and GrabCar offers better quality
services than conventional taxis.

• Hanif and Sagar (2016) – Their research suggested that cab services have a huge
potential for growth in Mumbai targeting middle and affluent class. Consumers not only use
cab service for communication but also for visiting a shopping mall, attending late night

13
 party or going out on special occasion. Study also showed that customer satisfaction level is
very high, showing positive sign for future growth and expansion of business.

• Kavita and Rajeswari (2016) - Aggregator taxi companies ‘s tied up with the mobile
wallets companies like Free Charge, PayTM, Mobikiwiki which helped in providing hazel
free ride to customers by providing customers easy payment options with offers and
discounts for rides.

• Utsav Pandya (2017) – He identified technology trends, safety, and price, ease of
availability, comfort and payment options affecting public taxi market.

• Kumar and Kumar (2016) – Their study showed that consumers were interested to
redeem coupons while selecting cab services and were comfortable to redeem coupons
through mobile apps while booking cab services.

• Allamdas Rohit H. (2017) – His comparatively study of Ola and Uber suggested that as
Indian consumers and highly price-sensitive and very less brand loyal, companies need to
design new packages to attract new customers and to keep existing customers.

• Shukla (2017) - His study on OLA and UBER suggested, to adopt highly innovative and
customer-centric strategies to increase market share. Therefore, it would not be that easy for
both the companies Ola and Uber to operate in an environment which has to be more
customer-centric & target oriented, highly innovative, and have resistant to pressure from
the regulatory authorities and keep delighting their customers.

14
Unit 1.6

Research Methodology

A research methodology or involves specific techniques that are adopted in research process to
collect, assemble and evaluate data. It defines those tools that are used to gather relevant
information in a specific research study. Surveys, questionnaires and interviews are the common
tools of research.

The methodology of research used for this study is primary in nature. For this research , a
questionnaire was prepared consisting of a total of 19 questions with 18 questions with relevance to
the study topic and 1 question which was dedicated to ask for the respondent's name, which was
meant for 50 respondents within ages 18 to 60. The questionnaires were prepared using the Google
Forms service and the pie charts and histograms regarding the survey result were prepared using
Excel .

15
Chapter 2

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Unit 2.1 Description of Companies Involved

(1) Uber -

Uber Technologies Inc., commonly known as Uber, is an American multinational online cab
booking company offering services that include peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing, food
delivery (Uber Eats), and a micromobility system with electric bikes and scooters. The company is
based in San Francisco and has operations in over 785 metropolitan areas worldwide. Its platforms
can be accessed via its websites and mobile apps.
As of 2019, Uber is estimated to have over 110 million worldwide users. In the United States, a
67% market share for ride-sharing in early 2019 and a 24% market share for food delivery in 2018.
Uber has been so prominent in the that the changes in industries as a result of it have been referred
to as uberisation, and many startups have described their products as "Uber for X". The National
Bureau of Economic Research estimated that, in 2015, Uber had accounted for $6.8 billion in
consumer surplus.

16
In 2009, Uber was originally founded as Ubercab by Garrett Camp, a computer programmer and the
co-founder of Stumble Upon, and Travis Kalanick, who sold his Red Swoosh startup for $19
million in 2007.

After Camp and his friends spent $800 hiring a private driver, he wanted to find a way to reduce the
cost of direct transportation. He realized that sharing the cost with people could make it affordable,
and his idea morphed into Uber. Kalanick joined Camp and gives him "full credit for the idea" of
Uber. The first prototype was built by Camp and his friends, Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan,
with Kalanick as the "mega advisor" to the company.

Following a beta launch in May 2010, Uber's services and mobile app officially launched in San
Francisco in 2011. Originally, the application only allowed users to hail a black luxury car and the
price was 1.5 times that of a taxi.

Passengers use an app to order a ride, where they are quoted the fare. Uber uses a dynamic pricing
model; prices for the same route vary according to supply and demand for rides at the time that the
ride is requested. At the end of the ride, payment is made based on the rider's pre-selected
preferences, such as a credit card on file, Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, cash, or, in India, Airtel
mobile wallet or Unified Payments Interface. After the ride is over, the rider is given the option to
provide a gratuity to the driver, which is also billed to the rider's payment method. In some
locations, if the driver has to wait more than a few minutes after arriving to the pickup location,
riders are charged a wait time fee.

Key Uber Statistics

1. Uber is available in 65 countries and over 600 cities worldwide

2. 14 million Uber trips are completed each day
3. Well over 10 billion trips have been completed worldwide
4. Figures vary, but Uber’s market share of the US ride-hailing market is estimated at between
65 and 69%
5. 2018 Uber revenue came to $11.3 billion – a 43% increase on 2017, while gross bookings
were up 45%, to $50 billion
6. Adjusted losses came to $1.8 billion in 2018; including sales of Russian and Asian business
to Yandex and Grab respectively, Uber 2018 GAAP losses come to $370 million
7. 2017 Uber revenue was $7.5 billion, with adjusted loss of $2.2 billion; Uber GAAP loss
came to $4.5 billion in 2017

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 8. Uber investment levels stand at $24.7 billion, pre-IPO
9. Uber valuation in 2018 was $72 billion
10. Average Uber driver income is $364/month
11. US Uber and Lyft drivers’ median hourly rate can be as low as $8.55
12. Uber drivers number 3.9 million worldwide
13. 27% of US UberX drivers are female
14. Female Uber drivers have been found to make 7% less than male drivers – or $1.24 per hour
less
15. Female Uber driver turnover stands at 76% every six months, compared to 60% for men
16. Key rival Lyft brought in $1 billion in revenue in 2017, and $2.2 billion in 2018
17. Lyft has 1.4 million drivers, who have served 23 million passengers over one billion rides
18. Asian rival Grab is thought to have brought in $1 billion over 2018
19. 36 million riders have collectively used Grab 2.5 billion times, served by 2.8 million drivers
20. Chinese rival Didi Chuxing is the biggest international rival, valued at $56 billion
21. Didi Chuxing claims that its 21 million drivers provide 30 million rides daily

(2) Ola -

Ola Cabs (stylised as OLΛ), is an Indian ridesharing company (TNC) offering services that include
peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing taxi and food delivery. The company is based in
Bengaluru, Karnataka,India and was developed by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. As of October
2019, Ola was valued at about $10 billion. A variety of venture capitalists including Softbank have
large stakes in the company.
Ola Cabs was founded on 3 December 2010 as an online cab aggregator in Mumbai, and is now
based in Bengaluru. As of 2019, the company has expanded to a network of more than 15 lakh (1.5
million) drivers across 250 cities. In November 2014, Ola diversified to incorporate auto rickshaws

18
on a trial basis in Bengaluru. After the trial phase, Ola Auto expanded to other cities like Delhi,
Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad starting in December 2014.

In January 2018, Ola extended into its first overseas market, Australia, and in New Zealand in
September 2018. In March 2019, Ola began its UK operations introducing auto rickshaws in UK.
More than 10,000 drivers have applied both in online and offline mode ahead of its launch in
London. In February 2020, Ola launched its taxi-hailing services with over 25,000 drivers
registered.

Key Ola Statistics

1. Ola has 150 million customers globaly

2. Number of Ola users in India is upto 23.96 million

3. Ola has over 1 million drivers

4. Ola gives over 1 billion rides annually

5. Average number of Ola rides per day is 1.5 million rides

6. Ola is available in 250 cities

7. Number of cabs in Ola's platform is 450,000

8. Number of Ola drivers in Australia is 40,000

9. Ola adds about 1,500 cabs to its platform daily

10. Average distance covered by Ola vehicles is 43 million kms, daily

11. Total amount Ola has raised in funding is 4 billion dollars

12. Ola has 8,000 employees

13. Ola's reported value is 4.3 billion dollars

(3) Meru Cabs -

Meru Cabs is a ridesharing company based in Mumbai, India. It provides cab booking facilities

19
through calls, website, Messenger bot on Facebook, Google Maps or through a mobile application.
It accepts payments through cash or multiple wallet options. Meru Cabs integrated their cab service
with Google Now which will send passengers reminders for cab pickups, alerting them if they wish
to book a cab based on their location and other information through Now Cards within the Google
app.
Meru cab was founded by Neeraj Gupta in Mumbai on April 2007 by raising funds against an
equity stake in the company from India Value Fund (IVF), which is a private equity fund with a
corpus of over US$1.4 Billion. On 2 February 2014, Google Now and Meru Cabs announced a
partnership to provide instant alerts to customers. Meru cabs partnered with French taxi service
provider Taxis G7 to provide taxi services globally.
In January 2016, Meru cabs started ride sharing options in New Delhi. They branched out from their
traditional green Radio Taxis to open categories of Hatchback, Sedan and SUV in January 2017.
Meru is the only taxi service that does not use dynamic pricing; this plays as a key differentiator.

Key Meru Cab Statistics

1. Meru's B2B business accounts to 40 – 50% of its revenue

2. Meru Cabs saw loss in market share of about 30 – 40% in past few years

3. Meru Cabs clocked Rs 322.6 crore in revenues in FY16

4. PE firm India Value Fund Advisors holds an ownership stake in Meru at about 87%

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Unit 2.2 Advantages of Online Cab Booking Services

Online cab booking services have several distinct advantages over traditional taxis:

1. Convenient and Cashless- Instead of chasing down a taxi on a street—or calling and
waiting half an hour for a car service—e-hail app users are able to hail a car from any
location and have it arrive within minutes.Because the passenger's credit card is linked to the
e-hail account, no cash changes hands. Upon arrival at the destination, the driver brings the
ride to a halt and the passenger can simply walk out of the car. A receipt is sent via email.

2. Professional Service- In major cities like where the taxi industry is regulated, most cars are
later models, well maintained and chauffeured by professional drivers who have proper
commercial insurance coverage.Once a driver accepts an assignment, passengers are able to
track a driver's position and route, and communicate with their driver if necessary. A driver
only learns the passenger’s destination when the fare starts. This takes care of the problem
of being refused access to a taxi because the passenger wishes to travel to undesirable parts
of town.

3. Safer and More Flexible for Drivers- Safety is the most important advantage for drivers
working with Uber or other e-hail services. Because the transaction is cashless, a driver
doesn't face unpaid fares or need to carry a sizeable amount of cash that might entice a
robber. Rude, aggressive, and disruptive passengers are weeded out because drivers can also
rate their customers. Consistently low ratings or reports of unsafe behavior toward drivers
can cause deactivation of an account. Unlike yellow cab taxi drivers who work 12-hour
shifts—or black car drivers who are scheduled by dispatchers—Uber and other e-hail drivers
enjoy greater freedom and flexibility. Drivers can log in and out of the system anytime and
choose their own hours. Drivers can avoid expensive taxi rental leases by acquiring their
own vehicles. This means more profit for drivers, all else being equal. Drivers are also
spared the stress caused by favoritism and office politics because the app renders dispatchers
irrelevant.

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Unit 2.3 Disadvantages of Online Cab Booking Services

Though there are hardly any downsides for customers, there are a few. Drivers also face several
disadvantages.

1. Surge Pricing- "Surge pricing" for online cab booking services or "prime time pricing" as it
is called for Lyft, is controversial and a major annoyance for most customers. Surge pricing
is a method of pricing in the free market that involves raising or lowering prices depending
on supply and demand. For customers this means how many cars are available (supply) and
how many passengers want to ride in them (demand). Depending on the intensity of
demand, prices for cab services may be increased by a certain percentage. At super peak
times, they could even be doubled or tripled. These fare hikes take effect during periods of
high demand for cars, such as rush hour or during rain and snowstorms.

2. Trip Cancellations- Although radio cabs in general is cheaper and more convenient than a
local car service or limousine, trip cancellations by drivers can cause disruptions to a
passenger's plans (e.g., missed flights).

3. Safety Concerns- Safety concerns have also emerged in many cities and states where the
transportation industry regulations are lax and average citizens can easily enter the e-hail
network as service providers. Although this has a positive effect by increasing the supply of
drivers, these drivers might not be as motivated to reach high standards of professionalism
and safety.

4. Low Fares Hurt Drivers- Low prices negatively affect drivers’ earnings. They bear most of
the costs associated with the service, such as fuel and repairs. Drivers contribute greatly to
the cab service brand. Initially, drivers used to rely on the surge charges to make up for low
fares (as compared to those charged by limousine or car services) and infrequent trips (as
compared to those of taxis). However, with price competition and the continued intake of
new drivers by these cab services, drivers’ average earnings are being pushed downward.
This means that drivers have to work longer hours to earn an income comparable to what
they would have earned a year or two ago. While this means that there is a larger supply of
drivers, longer hours behind the wheel jeopardize the safety of both drivers and passengers.

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 These conditions coupled with customer trip cancellations—which can cause a driver to
miss opportunities to make money during the busiest hours—can have a negative impact on
drivers’ earnings and morale.

5. Negative Impact of Price Competition- Price competition can be destructive for any
industry. Increasingly, Uber, Ola, Meru Cabs and other e-hail services are engaged in an
intense battle to provide the cheapest service. They are directly competing with existing
traditional taxi and car services for both customers and drivers. This has led to the drop in
taxi medallion and black car prices. That is good for drivers, but bad for other traditional
taxi and car service groups.

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Unit 2.4 National Scenario

The growing competition is helping- with new businesses entering the Indian market, it is helping
the category to get the long due attention. The industry “taxi business” which moves passengers
across India is emerging at a fast speed with new technologies, on-demand services, urging
customers, new marketing trends, and dedicated service providers are all helping it to fortify
amongst organized industries and build Indian brands which can expand beyond the borders of
India. Consequently, it is the greatest opportunity for In India as well as worldwide, taxi services
market is surprisingly unorganized. However, in past few years, companies began capitalizing this
market and in meantime, several small and large radio taxi operators proliferated rapidly in the
Indian market. Since 2009 the taxi market has witnessed the Compounded Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 41.90% in terms of business revenues. Growing consumers disposable income along
with lame public transport system in the country has given rise to a new market of on-demand taxi
services.
Nonetheless, on-demand taxi services market in India has huge potential. There are very few
players in organized radio taxi services who have unsuccessfully addressed the demand due to
unavailability of a required number of cabs. It is expected that Indian radio taxi service market will
reach 30000 taxis by 2017. The company such as Meru Cabs has resulted in 120% increase in net
profit after tax which shows the on-demand taxi services has great future in India.

A smartphone and a good Internet connection are almost every individual needs nowadays to fulfill
entire spectrum of his/her daily needs. Well, tech-savvy Indians have apps just for everything. From
movie ticket booking to scheduling physician’s appointment, ordering groceries to book a cab.

The on-demand taxi trend has truly changed a huge portion of people in country who commute on
daily basis. The hour-long waiting and shelling out excessive prices for the services of a
neighborhood is now over because of on-demand taxi services.

Popular Online Car Rental Apps and Services in India

Zoomcar: From a Nano to Mercedes, Zoomcar is a well-known car rental service provider in
which customer can take and drive it by himself/herself.

24
Ola Rentals: It provides multiple types of vehicles. Launched in 2016, their attractive pricing
makes them a suitable option for those who want to shop around the city, attend special events, or
make a family visit.

Uber Hire: Uber is best for those who have to make multiple stops while traveling across the city.
It is perfect time based on-demand service operating across 8 major cities in India.

Different Challenges

Though taxi business has great future ahead, it is still full of different challenges. This industry is
bursting at the seams with competition as many cab aggregators have emerged in last few years. So
let’s have a look at those challenges and what it really takes to be a leader.

The Way Forward

The next five to ten years will witness a boom in the industry, which will outclass the old players
present in this segment. Owing to this cut-throat competition, the taxi app development
company is going an extra mile to ensure that every need of the customer is kept in mind. Apart
from conventional car rental companies, there is a lot of direct and indirect competition on the anvil.
With a difference in the business model, entry of new players changes from the separate fleet to
hourly rates to just being intermediary connecting drivers with passengers.

We have thoroughly analyzed current Car Rental Market and overcome all existing challenges in it.
Some of this competitor neither own the vehicles nor maintain them, but only act as a marketplace.
However, one will be able to be a long-term player and benefit from operating a substantial fleet
with a wide range of options. These options need to be centric to the needs and want of the
consumer and innovative enough to re-define their choice as well as ground transportation in India.

25
Unit 2.5 International Scenario

This fact is taking its toll, on the regional cab aggregators which seem to be ready to give up on
their dreams to become a part of the ride-sharing world. Many of the homegrown taxi aggregators
that have managed to stay afloat are striving hard to do something that could gain them an audience.
But the coming years seem promising for these small taxi aggregators.

Be it the passenger comfort or ease of booking, the global ride-hailing market is just not by any
chance dying. There is a sure sign of a surge in the demand for ride-hailing services on a worldwide
basis. But there are some recent reports that show a major shift in the industry.

According to the latest report, the global online cab booking service market is expected to
grow at the rate of 21% by 2023.

Current scenario of online cab booking worldwide :

Without a doubt, North America is the highest contributor to the global market of online cab
booking, Asia-pacific ranging the second. In the year 2017, the global market for ride-sharing was
valued at $36 million. According to the latest studies, it is projected to increase to $126 million by
2025.

The pursuit of Global Dominance; the rise of New Players- The ride-hailing trend is emerging in
a futuristic landscape of shared mobility and it is proving itself worthy of providing a quick,
convenient and cost-effective transportation thus satisfying the user needs. It follows the same taxi

26
form of commuting but the ride-sharing business connects the rider and the driver in the real-time
through the app. This makes the user aware of the pricing in advance before confirming the trip and
providing them transportation right at their doorstep. The business-side of ride-hailing platforms
have provided huge opportunities for people seeking employment.

The valuations of the giants in the industry are as follows:

• Uber- 72 Billion

• Didi Chuxing- 56 Billion

• Lyft- 11.5 Billion

• Daimler- 7.1 Billion

• Grab- 6 Billion

• Ola- 3.8 Billion

• BlaBla Car- 1.6 Billion

• BMW- 400 Million

But to the surprise, the scenario is soon changing with the acquisition of SPLT by Bosch and Sony’s
partnership with Tokyo taxi. The development of technologies and the rise of AI is responsible for
all the changes that will be part of the future.

The growth of ride-sharing trend can be judged on the basis of a study in America which states that
there are fewer Americans going for a driver’s license and instead opting the carsharing
memberships. After considering this fact, we can see the future advancement of ride-hailing
services.

The diagram below depicts the ride-hailing sector in the year 2017 and the expected growth in the
year 2025. There are certain factors which lead to the growth of the industry. However, due to the
low rate of internet usage in some developing countries, there are chances of lowered usage of taxi
booking apps in those areas. But, on the face of the world wherever there is digitalization, there is
growth in the usage of these apps.

27
So, for the startups or the taxi aggregator who wants to expand their taxi booking business, there is
no need to worry and wind up your dreams at all. The only thing that you need to do to take your
business to the next level is going digital.

28
Chapter 3 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Unit 3.1 Data and Analysis

(1) Your Occupation

Table 3.1.1

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Businessman 5 10.20%
Student 32 65.30%
Employee 6 12.20%
Homemaker 1 2.00%
Housewife 1 2.00%
Intern 1 2.00%
Service 1 2.00%
Teacher 4 4.10%
Total 49 99.80%

Figure 3.1.1

10.20% 4.10% 2.00%

2.00%
2.00% Businessman
2.00% Student
12.20% Employee
Homemaker
Housewife
Intern
Service
Teacher
65.30%

Interpretation :From the table and figure above we know that the maximum number of the
respondents are students(65.30%), followed by employees, businessmen, teachers, homemakers,
housewifes, interns and servicemen respectively.

29
(2) How often do you opt for online booking of cabs for commuting ?

Options -

(a) Quite often

(b) Ocassionally

(c) Daily

Table 3.1.2

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Quite often 22 44.00%
Ocassionally 20 40.00%
Daily 8 8.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.2

8.00%

44.00% Quite often

Ocassionally
Daily

40.00%

Interpretation : From the table and figure above we can know that 44% of the responders book
cabs quite often, 40% ocassionally and 8% daily.

30
(3) Do you think that online booking of cabs is better than traditional booking (spot booking) of
cabs for eg. yellow/black taxi booking ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

Table 3.1.3

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 40 80.00%
No 4 8.00%
Maybe 6 12.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.3

12.00%

8.00%

Yes
No
Maybe

80.00%

Interpretation : From the table and figure above we can know that 80% of the responders say 'yes',
8% 'no' and 12% say 'maybe' .

31
(4) Which online cab booking app do you mostly use ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.4

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 36 72.00%
Ola 12 24.00%
Meru Cabs 4 4.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.4
80.00% 72.00%
70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00% 24.00%

20.00%

10.00% 4.00%
0.00% 200.00%
0.00% 100.00%
Uber Ola Meru Cabs Others
Interpretation : From the table and figure above we find out that 72% of the respondents mostly
use Uber, 24% use Ola, and 4% of them use Meru Cabs.

32
(5) Which online cab booking service is your favourite ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.5

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 34 68.00%
Ola 14 28.00%
Meru Cabs 2 4.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.5
4.00%

28.00%
Uber
Ola
Meru Cabs
Others

68.00%

Interpretation : From the table and figure above we find out that 68% of the respondents like Uber,
28% like Ola, 4% like Meru Cabs .

33
(6) Do you think these cab services charge on the basis of distance travelled ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

Table 3.1.6

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 24 48.00%
No 17 34.00%
Maybe 9 18.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.6

18.00%

48.00% Yes
No
Maybe
34.00%

Interpretation : From the table and figure above we can know that 48% of the responders say 'yes',
34% 'no' and 18% say 'maybe' .

34
(7) Which online cab booking service has the most reasonable fares according to you ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.7

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 35 70.00%
Ola 13 26.00%
Meru Cabs 2 4.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.7

Others 0.00%

4.00%
Meru Cabs

26.00%
Ola

70.00%
Uber

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

Interpretation : From the table and figure above we find out that 70% of the respondents prefer
Uber's fares, 26% prefer Ola's and 4% prefer Meru Cabs' fares .

35
(8) Which online cab service do you think provides the widest range of vehicles ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.8

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 27 54.00%
Ola 22 44.00%
Meru Cabs 1 2.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.8
2.00%

Uber
Ola
44.00%
Meru Cabs
54.00% Others

Interpretation :From the table and figure above we find out that 54% of the respondents prefer
Uber's cab range, 44% prefer Ola's and 2% prefer Meru Cabs' cab range .

36
(9) Which online cab service you think is the most popular in India ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.9

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 33 66.00%
Ola 17 34.00%
Meru Cabs 0 0.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.9

34.00%

Uber
Ola
Meru Cabs
Others

66.00%

Interpretation :From the table and figure above we find out that 66% of the respondents consider
Uber to be popular in India and 34% find Ola popular.

37
(10) Do you use these cab services because of their brand value ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

Table 3.1.10

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 27 54.00%
No 23 46.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.10

46.00%

Yes
No

54.00%

Interpretation :From the table and figure above we find out that 54% of the respondents consider
the brand value while booking cabs while 46% don't.

38
(11) How much of your monthly budget do you allocate for these cab services ?

Options –

(a) A small percentage (b) A third of my budget

(c) Half of my budget (d) Negligible amount

Table 3.1.11

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

A small percentage 28 56.00%
A third of my budget 6 12.00%
Half of my budget 0 0.00%
Negligible amount 16 32.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.11

32.00%

A small percentage
A third of my budget
Half of my budget
Negligible amount

56.00%

12.00%

Interpretation :From the table and figure above we find out that 56% of respondents spend a small
percentage of their budget for cab bookings while 12% spend a third of their budget and 32%
respondents spend a negligible amount.

39
(12) Which online cab booking app are you most likely to recommend to your friends and
relatives ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.12

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 36 72.00%
Ola 11 22.00%
Meru Cabs 3 6.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.12
80.00%
72.00%
70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%
22.00%
20.00%

10.00% 6.00%
0.00%
0.00%
Uber Ola Meru Cabs Others

Interpretation : From the table and graph above we get to know that 72% of the respondents
recommend Uber, 22% recommend Ola and only 6% recommend Meru Cabs.

40
(13) Do you use these cab services because there's scarcity of yellow/black taxis in your area ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Sometimes

Table 3.1.13

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 16 32.00%
No 21 42.00%
Sometimes 13 26.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.13

26.00%
32.00%

Yes
No
Sometimes

42.00%
Interpretation: From the table and figure above we find out that 32% of the respondents use these
cab apps because of lack of traditional taxi availability in their area while 42% respondents use
these apps regardless of traditional taxi availability and 26% respondents sometimes cannot find
yellow taxis so they use these apps.

41
(14) Which online cab service do you think provides the friendliest and most capable drivers ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.14

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 37 74.00%
Ola 11 22.00%
Meru Cabs 2 4.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.14
74.00%
80.00%

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00% 22.00%

20.00%
4.00%
10.00%
0.00%
0.00%
Uber Ola Meru Cabs Others

Interpretation: From the table and graph above we find out that 74% of the responders find Uber
drivers friendly and capable while 22% responders prefer Ola drivers and 4% of them find Meru
Cabs drivers capable and friendly.

42
(15) What features do you find the most useful about these cab services ? *checkboxes*

Options-

(a) Air Conditioning (b) In-Car Wi-Fi Service (c) Pre Estimation of
Fares

(d)Applicability of Discount Coupons (e) Payment via Non Cash Sources

Table 3.1.15

Responses Votes Percentage of Votes

Air Conditioning 35 70.00%
In-Car Wi-Fi Service 10 20.00%
Pre Estimation of Fares 46 92.00%
Applicability of Discount 14 14.00%
Coupons
Payment via Non Cash Sources 24 24.00%

Figure 3.1.15

24.00%

Air Conditioning
14.00% In-Car Wi-Fi Service
Pre Estimation of Fares
92.00% Applicability of Discount
Coupons
20.00% Payment via Non Cash
Sources
70.00%

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%

Interpretation: From the table and graph above we find out that 92% of the responders like the
feature of pre estimation of fares, 70% like air conditioning, 24% like payment via non cash
sources, 20% like the feature of Wi-Fi and 14% like the applicability of discount coupons.

43
(16) Which cab booking app works properly even in a slower network ?

Options –

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others _____________(Specify)

Table 3.1.16

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Uber 34 68.00%
Ola 13 26.00%
Meru Cabs 3 6.00%
Others 0 0.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.16
6.00%

Uber
26.00%
Ola
Meru Cabs
Others

68.00%

Interpretation: From the table and figure above we see that 68% of respondents think that Uber
app works properly in slower network, 26% think that Ola app works better in slow network and
6% respondents think that Meru Cabs app works better.

44
(17) Would you consider to buy a car rather than using these online cab services ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

Table 3.1.17

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 19 38.00%
No 21 42.00%
Maybe 10 20.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.17
42.00%
45.00% 38.00%
40.00%

35.00%

30.00% Yes
25.00% 20.00% No
Maybe
20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00% 200.00%
0.00%
100.00%

Interpretation: From the table and figure above we see that 38% responders prefer to buy a car
rather than keep using these cab services while 42% don't and 20% of them have not yet decided.

45
(18) Do you think that online cab booking services would eventually replace yellow/black taxis in
the future ?

Options –

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

Table 3.1.18

Responses No. of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Yes 27 54.00%
No 10 20.00%
Maybe 13 26.00%
Total 50 100.00%

Figure 3.1.18

26.00%

Yes
20.00% No
Maybe

54.00%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

Interpretation: From the table and figure above we see that 54% of the responders think that
online cab booking service would completely replace traditional taxis in thw future while 20% don't
and 26% responders are not sure.

46
Unit 3.2 Findings

The following are the findings from the survey conducted -

• Most number of respondents of this survey are students.

• Most respondents (44%) book cabs online quite often.

• Respondents prefer online cab booking services over traditional yellow/black taxis.

• Most of the respondents mostly use Uber cab app.

• Uber is the most favourite online cab booking service among the respondents.

• Online cab booking services charge on the basis of distance travelled.

• Uber has better fare rates compared to Ola and Meru Cabs.

• Uber offers the widest range of vehicles.

• Uber is the most popular online cab booking service in India according to responders.

• Most respondents prefer online cab booking services because of their brand value.

• Respondents allot a small percentage of thier monthly budget for these online cab booking
services.

• Most respondents would recommend Uber to their friends and relatives.

• Online booking of cabs have nothing to do with scarcity of traditional taxis in their area for
most respondents.

47
• Uber drivers are the friendliest and most capable compared to Ola and Meru Cab drivers.

• The feature of pre-estimation of fares is the most useful compared to other features like Wi-
Fi service , air conditioning etc.

• The Uber app works most perfectly even in a slower network.

• Most of the respondents prefer to keep using these online cab booking services instead of
buying a car.

• Most respondents say that online cab booking services are eventually going to replace
traditional taxis in the future.

48
Chapter 4

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Unit 4.1 Conclusion - This study reveal the customer satisfaction about the online cab booking
services, the factors they give importance in selection of the service provider, fare rates, comfort,
convenience, service quality and customer care rendered. This will help the service providers
understand what they need to do to provide maximum customer satisfaction which will eventually
make them the top competitors and what the new cab booking companies which have entered the
market need to do to stand up to the big three i.e, Uber, Ola and Meru Cabs and make their presence
felt. The finding depicts the exact replica of the customer’s mindset and level of satisfaction
towards the online cab booking service providers especially in the Indian market. This will also help
the service providers full fill the customer expectation that fetches the goodwill and develop their
brand image in the market. This study should also help the traditional taxi market understand what
they need to do to stay in the game and increase public preference towards them, which would
result in tougher competition which would lead to more innovation.

Unit 4.2 Recommendation – By conducting this survey and while doing this project, I have
learnt many things which I would like to put forward as a recommendation.They are as follows -

• The government should take steps regarding the market of traditional yellow taxis because
these online cab booking services have pushed these traditional taxi businesses towards a
steady downfall.Traditional yellow/black taxis are a part of our culture and I think they
should remain relevant in years to come.

• The less popular cab booking services like Meru Cabs and new online cab booking services
entering the market for eg., Taxi For Sure etc. should look forward to more aggressive
pricing and better offers in order to make their presence felt in the market and put an end to
the unofficial duopoly of Uber and Ola which are currently most prefered by the Indian
public. This would lead to overall cheaper fares and more innovation like introduction of
electric cars which in turn will prove fruitful to the customers as well as the environment.

49
Chapter 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journals :

• Pacific Business Review International, Volume 9 Issue 9, March 2017

• International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Volume 119 No.12, 2018, 14919 –
14928

Websites :

• www.coruscatesolution.com

• www.panaceatek.com

• www.investopedia.com

• www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

• www.businessofapps.com

• www.expandedramblings.com

• www.businessdictionary.com

• www.wisdomjobs.com

50
Chapter 6

ANNEXURE

Comparative Study On Online Cab Booking Services

Hello, my name is Aaron Singh and I am a student of The Bhawanipur Education Society College. I
am asking you to complete this survey as it is necessary for the research I'm doing regarding the
comparative study of online cab booking services namely Uber, Ola and Meru Cabs in India.

Please answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge.

(1) Your Name

________________

(2) Your Occupation

________________

(3) How often do you opt for online booking of cabs for commuting ?

(a) Quite often

(b) Ocassionally

(c) Daily

(4) Do you think that online booking of cabs is better than traditional booking (spot booking) of
cabs for eg. yellow/black taxi booking ?

51
 (a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

(5) Which online cab booking app do you mostly use ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(6) Which online cab booking service is your favourite ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(7) Do you think these cab services charge on the basis of distance travelled ?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

(8) Which online cab booking service has the most reasonable fares according to you ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

52
(9) Which online cab service do you think provides the widest range of vehicles ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(10) Which online cab service you think is the most popular in India ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(11) Do you use these cab services because of their brand value ?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(12) How much of your monthly budget do you allocate for these cab services ?

(a) A small percentage (b) A third of my budget

(c) Half of my budget (d) Negligible amount

(13) Which online cab booking app are you most likely to recommend to your friends and
relatives ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

53
(14) Do you use these cab services because there's scarcity of yellow/black taxis in your
area ?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Sometimes

(15) Which online cab service do you think provides the friendliest and most capable
drivers ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

(c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(16) What features do you find the most useful about these cab services ?

(a) Air Conditioning

(b) In-car Wi-Fi service

(c) Pre estimation of fares

(d) Applicabilty of discount coupons

(e) Payment via non- cash sources

(17) Which cab booking app works properly even in a slower network ?

(a) Uber (b) Ola

54
 (c) Meru Cabs (d) Others___________(specify)

(18) Would you consider to buy a car rather than using these online cab services ?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

(19) Do you think that online cab booking services would eventually replace yellow/black
taxis in the future ?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Maybe

55