Transport automation platform MoveInSync joins cab-hailing race with Bengaluru pivot

Bengaluru-based transport automation platform MoveInSync has decided to pilot a cab-hailing application in the city.

It plans to start with approximately 500 cars eyeing a target market of employees who are ready to pay any price to reach office on time in jammed lanes of Bengaluru.

Gaining confidence after serving companies like Google and Amazon with their route optimization and cab hire services, the company believes it can make a difference in the market with their application.

Started as a carpool service in 2009 by Deepesh Agarwal, Akash Maheshwari, and Anuvrata Arora and later turned into transport management platform, MoveInSync  claims to have managed 6 lakh trips across 20 cities in India. 

The data collected over this period is expected to give an edge as this has helped the firm form its patented routing and matching algorithm.

It plans to offer employees that don’t already have a company provided cab service and have to use buses, autos, or other cabs for the same - a safe, secure, timely ride.

The development comes about 10 months after it raised a funding of $8 million (approx Rs 53 crore) in a Series B round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Other participants in the round included Inventus Capital Partners, Saama Capital, Qualcomm Ventures.

While all this is news, it raises a lot of concerns. The same model is followed by Ola and Uber - two giants that already cater to the demand created by the target market of MoveInSync. Not just that, there are other smaller players like Routematic as well that are eyeing the same set of employees for their own business. It just adds to a customer’s confusion regarding what to choose for their travel.

Further, in line of what CEO of RedSeer Consulting - Anil Kumar - told ET, getting these customers to install another app for which they already have probably 2 apps in their phone is going to be a challenge. And if that is achieved and demand increases, will the company be able to fulfill the demand with 500 cabs.

Not to forget, Karnataka Chief Minitesr backed Namma TYGR is also running app-based cabs service since late 2017.

Does Bengaluru actually need more cars on road, with all the pollution and traffic already making the lives of citizens difficult?