Meru denies talks with Uber, says co keen on expanding business

There may be some buzz about US-based taxi-hailing app Uber looking to acquire  Meru, but the Indian cab service says it is right now intent on only growing its business. Meru is the oldest radio based taxi service provider in India and currently operates in 15 cities. Consolidation is waiting to happen in the cab market as Ola is also reportedly interested in buying out another cab aggregator, TaxiforSure. But Chief Marketing Officer Rathin Lahiri wants to only speak about Meru’s expansion plans in India. He says more than half of Meru’s business now comes from its app, which was launched as late as October last year. And 70% of its business comes from the app and web combined.He denies that the company is in discussions for any acquisition and offers no comment on reports of Meru looking to raise about Rs 350 crore for expansion. He does say that Meru is growing quite fast in India, was profitable last year and this year could bring the company its highest growth so far. Now, with its integration with the Google app which was announced yesterday, Meru is hoping to use analytics and better predict consumer behaviour. Lahiri says Google will provide information to users before they explicitly search for it: for instance, this integration will send passengers reminders for cab pickups, alerting them in case they wish to avail of a cab depending on their location, as well as other such information through Now cards within the Google app for Android. [caption id=“attachment_614736” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shot of an emailer sent out to Meru subscribers[/caption] Lahiri says that the app has features like one touch booking, tracking your cab, confirmed booking up to 7 days in advance and a cab wallet which also allows users to use the balance in the wallet for other transactions like recharging mobiles or even buying movie tickets. Unlike other wallets, Meru claims its semi-wallet also allows users to transfer the balance back to their bank accounts. He says Meru has been piloting an Aadhaar card-based driver verification system where every driver will also be verified with a finger print and retina scans before he logs on to the Meru system. Besides, the taxi company has also provided a panic button in its recently launched Meru Eve service for women. This button is provided on the head rest at the back seat of the Eve cabs and can be used by passengers in case of any emergency. Speaking of safety features in its cab services, Lahiri says these new initiatives are in addition to the existing ones like an ICE button and a trip tracker feature on Meru’s mobile app. The company has been upgrading its driver verification process and enhancing safety features, especially for women consumers, after the alleged rape of a woman in Delhi late last year. Lahiri says Meru cabs are also fitted with an alarm in case the driver is speeding beyond 80 kmph and repeat speeding by the driver attracts penalties. To a question on whether the more affordable Meru service - the Genie - is being expanded, Lahiri says this will be the flagship service of Meru cabs going forward but does not disclose how many more cabs will come under Genie. Meru Cabs was launched in Mumbai in April 2007 in association with India Value Fund, an India centric private equity fund. In December 2013, the MeruGenie service was launched in Hyderabad, followed by Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.