How have online cab hire services simplified our lives?

Gone are the days when we would be stranded on the road for hours because of unavailability of taxis and autos. Taxis have made it very simple for us to hail transport when we need them. Several professionals who work late into the night or travel to office for the morning shift, avail these cabs for safe travel to their workplace. They are timely, better behaved than regular taxi and autowalas and charge reasonably. After their advent, the public transport system has taken a serious blow.

Online cab hire services are provided by tour companies who offer pickup and drop off cars for travelling to the airport or railway stations. Some of these cars were available for travelling to nearby destinations for sightseeing. These companies have upped their game by offering their cars for all possible commutes. Several professionals prefer to hire their services rather than buy a car because it is cheaper. They can simply ring the night before to book the car or enter into a monthly agreement with them.

What work in favour are their availability, punctuality and quality of service. Since these cabs are not a part of the city taxi unions, they ply even when there are transport strikes.  You can simply book them the night before or a couple of hours before an event and expect the car to be there. These companies have multiple cars within their fleet to cater to different kinds of customers. For instance, if you are travelling with a couple of people, you can book a small car such as Tata Indica or Maruti Ritz. If you have a larger group with you, then vehicles such as Toyota Innova and Tata Sumo are available for booking. Many people travelling together to a venue such as an engagement, wedding, anniversary party or even bachelor’s nights prefer booking these MPVs and SUVs as they are spacious and more convenient. The trend of the groom driving into weddings in a plush, luxury car has increased and most of them are booked through online cab hire. Their fleet includes vehicles such as Jaguars, Mercedes Benz Saloons, BMWs and Audis, which are some of the pop picks for the rich and affluent for driving to weddings.

Those driving these cars are well-dressed and presentable. They are well-versed with the various routes of the city. Even if you are new to the city, you can be sure about reaching your destination thanks to their road sense. You can also make conversation with them about various aspects about the city and expect to gain first hand, authentic information as they know the city inside out.

Tour companies operated car rentals score over radio taxis is their availability for long hours of the day. Most of these radio taxis are for door to door travels while cars from tour operators can be booked for up to six to eight hours, with overtime thereafter. Therefore, if you are on a business tour, it is better to opt for their service as it will save you the hassle of locating a radio taxi every time. Moreover, during late night, it may be difficult for you to get a radio taxi as services are withdrawn from certain areas. However, if you pre-book an online cab hire, then you can expect them to send a car no matter what is the time of the day. You can also choose the vehicle that you want to travel in. For instance, if you feel a particular model provides better lumbar support, you can ask the company to send that kind of car. With radio taxis, you need to make do with whatever arrives.

Several businessmen book sedans in cities they visit to take to business meetings. It is more convenient than maintaining cars in cities where they don’t live. Moreover, these companies provide to you proper bills outlining the numbers of kilometres gone, the rate per kilometre and hour, the number of hours for which the car was booked and the model. This bill can then be presented in your office to claim travel allowance. You can also ask for parking bills from the company in case your firm reimburses those as well. Apart from cash, some of these companies also accept payment via debit and credit cards.

The charges for cars vary from city to city and vehicle to vehicle, but for a standard hatchback, the amount is around Rs 130 per hour or Rs 13 per kilometre, whichever is higher. Overnight charges come to Rs 1000 per day. For sedans like Honda City and Hyundai Verna, the amount can be higher at Rs 190 per hour while for Mercedes and Audi the rates can be as high as Rs 4800 for 4 hours. The rates differ from city to city and they do not include parking charges and tolls payable.

Depending on your urgency and need for transport, you can book online cab hire in advance. For booking online cab hire, you can look up online classifieds to gain contacts of tour operators in your vicinity. You can streamline the search results according to cities, including the locality. These companies usually add their telephone numbers using which you can call them directly. Some of them also quote their lowest tariffs to give you an idea about how much it would cost to hire their services.

The tariff provided to you contains details about airport and railway station pickup and drop off, sightseeing through the door, door to door transfer and even when you make short overnight trips to close by areas. For airport and station pick up, the charges usually include those for bringing the car back to the office as these cars are booked only for your use and they do not shuttle other passengers.

Cab hiring services have made life simple for regular commuters who do not wish to own cars. They are inexpensive, timely and perfectly safe to travel by.