But first let’s understand the BlaBla Car from scratch.
BlaBla Car is a French based startup valued at $2 billion which works as an online based platform providing car pooling service to the passengers as well as drivers who are willing to travel together between cities and share the cost of the journey. **
The platform has 90 million users and is available in 22 countries including India.
If you have to travel from Delhi to Chandigarh tomorrow morning from a public transport and suddenly an image of an uninteresting bus or train saddens you, all you have to is open BlaBla Car app and pick any of the private car owners who are also travelling on the same route offering a ride for a price as same as a bus ticket.
Also as a car owner if you are looking for some cost cutting on fuel or toll tax during the journey, you can try BlaBla Car and search for the passengers who can company you in the journey.
BlaBla Car act as a facilitator between two parties travelling on the same route. A driver who is driving from one city to another and has empty seats in his/her car can post in on BlaBla Car platform. Similarly, a passenger can look for a seat in advance and book it.
BlaBla Car generates revenue through transaction fees, which is 10-12% of the total cost of a ride. While the platform connects drivers and riders heading in same direction, it ensures that riders only pay for covering reasonable expenses, like fuel of the car owner.
Well, BlaBla Car has left India but users can still book rides but the services have been on autopilot without any local staff or advertising.
BlaBla car entered India in 2015 with the aim to first acquire the market and then monetize the operations but the company had to shut down there offices in India. The reason has never been disclosed by the company, but as per articles available on the internet the security and safety of the passengers was a big concern here.