EasyCommute: An intra-city mobile-based AC Bus Shuttle Service
8 years ago Shalini BWe all have been hearing about MNCs waiving off transport services in the city. They are either opting for removal of transport services for their employees or are deducting amounts for shuttle services from the salary of employees. Transport deduction as big as Rs. 2000 – Rs. 4000 is being deducted every month from the employees who have no other option but to choose the transport options of the company. In a larger sense, daily commute to work has now become a big challenge for everyone in all metro cities across the country.
When Rahul Jain faced a problem like this and realised that everyone around him faced the similar commute problem, he understood that the issue is actually quite big and has become an everyday problem for office goers. That is when he felt the need to find a solution, not only for himself, but for everyone. And thus started EasyCommute. He discussed this idea with his friend Mayank Chawla and the idea was converted into a business model which went live in October 2015.
EasyCommute is an intra-city mobile-based AC Bus Shuttle Service for working professionals with an aim of redefining commuting experience. The team is striving to achieve this aim by trying to cut down the frustration of employees to stand in a bus or wait for an auto. EasyCommute is a platform that brings together running AC minibuses/maxi-cabs which are aggregated from various travel agencies in the city. The AC buses provide a confirmed seat with free access of High-Speed Wi-Fi (4G) in the vehicle at a very affordable price.
To make this platform even more accessible and easy to use, the EasyCommute team developed an android application and a mobile optimized web app version for this startup. Using this app, users can book a seat in a shuttle based on his/her timings through. For the delight of customers, EasyCommute is available for a trial basis through their first 2 free rides scheme. Using this, customers can understand how it works and feel the difference from his/her daily routine commute. It also offers monthly basis shared cabs service with daily pickup and drop for employees in Hyderabad.
How does this work
When the user completes registration in the app, he/she can book a seat by following the below steps –
- Select Pick-up & Drop-off stops from the list of available stops.
- Choose shuttle timings of your convenience
- Confirm your seat and pay from e-wallet
Once user confirms the booking, a boarding pass will be generated with booking details like booking id, timing, etc. User can also track shuttle in real-time on his/her mobile.
Rahul worked as a Software Architect with Bwin Party Digital Entertainment, one of the largest online gaming company in the world and Mayank is a Ph.D graduate in Artificial Intelligence from IIIT-Hyderabad and had worked with GE in Bangalore before starting up. Apart from these two co-founders, the startup currently has 10 more members to support the growth of the startup.
In just a span of few months, EasyCommute has experienced over 10, 000 registered users which is seen to be growing at a rate of 120% week-on-week. Today, they are providing 300 rides per day and planning to expand to 500 rides per day in the next 1 month.
The team started off their operations with just one route – JNTU to Wipro. With the growing response from the users, they are now running 36 shuttles on 24 different routes in the city. “Suggest Route” is a feature in their application through which users can suggest new routes. Based on the number of suggestions they get, they are adding new routes every week.
The experts are on a constant algorithms research for route optimization and are striving to reduce the estimated time of arrival using Artificial Intelligence. They also plan to file patents on their proprietary algorithms very soon.
So say goodbye to the daily waiting in queues or daily routine of booking cabs at high rate by opting to travel by EasyCommute. Choose the smart way and enjoy the benefits that this service offers.
