A mechanical engineering graduate, Raghav is a serial entrepreneur who had earlier worked for various global corporates before incepting HYPE.

It’s funny, how certain things, certain activities, and certain people become such an important part of our daily lives that we reach a point where we cannot imagine our lives without them. Like that morning cup of coffee, or your maid by your side daily, or that one delivery service that guarantees you all your groceries at the click of a button, our lives today are defined by a set of ‘essentials.’

One thing that has made it to this list of essentials, particularly in the last five years, is the category of car rental apps. Especially in metros and Tier-1 cities, where traffic, rush hour traffic, and tedious daily commutes give a headache to the most persevering employees, car rental apps have become a blessing. In cities where autos and cabs, that were initially preferred for fulfilling the basic need of transporting us from one place to another, have now become pricey and often reject individuals on the basis of the areas they were travelling to or the price they were paying or for the simple condition that they follow the meter. The entry of car rental apps that ensured you had a ride at your doorstep made things not only easier but much calmer. No more negotiating with drivers, no more uncertainty; just a guaranteed trip that is comfortable and convenient.

During the first couple of years that car rental services came up as a category, there were quite a few companies that started providing on-demand car rental services in metros and Tier-1 cities. But as time passed, many of them either shut operations or were unable to expand their business model. One major reason as to why that happened was that these companies were unable to cope with the increasing demand. The driving force behind the success of car rental services and apps was the convenience they provided and in order to provide the same convenience to a much larger audience requires a lot of resources, impeccable execution, and solid strategies are needed.

Some techniques that can be used to make car rental apps more effective are:
Impeccable Tracking Software:
While convenience is a driving force for a lot of people commuting to work, one of the aspects that are often overlooked is the safety aspect. Especially for female travellers, being able to track their ride and being able to share that with their family or friends is a very helpful feature. Develop the tracking feature and incorporating that in a car rental app goes a long way in ensuring customer satisfaction.

Payment Gateways & Wallets:
The future of finance and payments in India is digital. With a lot of digital payment apps coming up, more and more people are shifting to digital payments. It’s a whole lot easier to sync your card to an E-wallet or add money to your online app-based accounts. A lot of people who commute daily know how much they’re going to be spending on the commute over a week or month and so, it becomes convenient to load that money on the wallet within the car rental app. Developing a good wallet feature is really helpful. Alternatively, you can link your app with a payment gateway that handles the entire process for you so you don’t have to worry about technical glitches on that front.

Cost Calculator:
This one is an important aspect to look into because rush hour traffic leads to a lot of people booking cabs through these apps. Due to the surge in booking, the price will increase but as a company, in order to ensure that the information is displayed quickly, is working on a cost calculator feature that gauges the rush hour traffic and immediately factors that into the cost so that the potential customer knows what he/she might have to pay. A lot of times, people have to deal with an app that keeps loading and reloading or even hangs when the cost calculator shows up, so this is one feature where every car rental app must ‘pull its socks up’!

While convenience is a driving force for a lot of people commuting to work, one of the aspects that are often overlooked is the safety aspect

Memberships, Cards for Longer Rides or Exclusive Benefits:
A huge chunk of the population that uses car rental apps still uses it for their daily commute to work. And with the commute, there is a high level of certainty, in that the person knows he/she will have to travel at a given date and/or time. With such customers, you know they are going to make frequent purchases and so, in order retain them and incentivise their potential rides, car rental apps should look into creating memberships or ‘ride passes’, wherein the person buys a pass for a certain amount and that gives them their next 10/20/50 rides at a much lower cost. For working professionals, this is a great deal because they know they will be able to utilize all those rides and so the ride pass or membership is worth investing in!

Ultimately, with car rental apps and for that matter all technology-driven services, the most important technique is to stay relevant and topical. It is important to note behavioural shifts and to incorporate those into your model. Car rental apps that modify their product according to the audience’s needs will not only thrive but will rule.