How often have you dreamt of zooming around in a superbike or a swanky car, but have been tied down thanks to various logistical issues including these being too heavy on your pocket?
That problem is now being taken care of by a city-based start-up, Driven, which lets you to rent your favourite superbike or car. Floated by Ashwin Jain and Karar Taher seven months ago, they officially kick-started their operations last month.
Then there’s the Driven cafe they run— where customers rent cars and bikes — a first-of-its-kind in India. “We wanted to create an unconventional coffee shop where people could come and check out the bikes/cars and chill,” says Ashwin.
The two, who run their own businesses, decided to come together when they saw potential in this idea.“We have a fantastic relationship with each other. The business is structured in such a way that if we need any support on any logistical issues, we bank on each other’s fleets.”
The idea to rent out bikes originated from their own personal experience, Ashwin says. “There are a lot of people who want to ride or drive a particular car or superbike. But investing huge amounts of money to purchase them and not being able to use them regularly owing to various reasons, — gave us the idea,” he says, adding, “We thought, it would be so fantastic to share or borrow a bike with someone.”
The other thing that makes this a more feasible option is the pricing. “Our prices are quite nominal. We charge anything between Rs 300 and Rs 1,200 for a super bike for an hour and Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 for a car,” says Karar. Karar adds that they also stress a lot on the importance of safety.
He says, “All our bikes have GPS trackers. Also, if the client is over-speeding we get a notification and we then ask them to slow down. We have a very proactive interaction which reduces risks.”
Currently, their services are available in Hyderabad, Vizag and Vijayawada, but they have plans to expand. Says Ashwin, “We plan to setup our fleets in Chennai, Bengaluru, Goa, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Udaipur soon.”
