BluSmart to deploy 300 electric cabs on Uber’s platform

Electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing app BluSmart will deploy around 300 electric cabs on rival US-based Uber’s platform as part of an experiment amidst mounting trouble at the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Morning Context was the first to report on this matter.

According to the source, the two companies have been in talks for several months, and the arrangement follows a standard aggregator model, with Uber charging a commission on each ride.

The timing of the deployment coincides with BluSmart’s funding troubles and senior executives looking to exit the firm. Top management personnel, including BluSmart’s CEO Anirudh Arun, Chief Business Officer Tushar Garg, and Chief Technology Officer Rishabh Sood, have handed in their resignations and are currently serving their respective notice periods.

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This is not the first time BluSmart had an arrangement with a ride-hailing company; it had a similar experiment with Rapido, wherein its drivers could opt in to accept Rapido bookings via the BluSmart driver app, according to an executive from the ride-hailing industry.

However, amidst Gensol’s—the company that had leased the majority of BluSmart’s cabs—liquidity troubles coming to light, Rapido is reported to have pulled out of this arrangement, and BluSmart stopped deploying its cabs on the platform.

According to the TMC report, drivers found that Rapido was generating more demand for BluSmart than the company itself, which only allows users to schedule rides compared to the on-demand model run by Rapido and Uber.

Earlier this month, there were reports of Uber possibly acquiring BluSmart amidst liquidity tensions at Gensol. However, in an interview with Financial Express, BluSmart Co-founder Anmol Singh Jaggi confirmed there was no truth to this.

Jaggi is also the managing director at Gensol Engineering.