Meet the Man Who Created an App to Make Rides 50% Cheaper by Introducing Shared Cabs

5 minutes

As rain tapped rhythmically on the window, Shubham lounged on his couch, enjoying a cup of coffee and browsing through Twitter. The cozy ambiance made it an ideal lazy day. Then, a tweet grabbed his attention: "Just scored a flight from Pune to Bangalore for ₹3,500. Followed by a cab ride from the Bangalore airport to home for ₹2,000."

Reading the tweet, memories flooded back of Shubham's own experiences grappling with the steep cab fares from Bangalore Airport. The frustration of those exorbitant costs and the significant dent they made in his wallet came rushing back to him.

A Challenge Worth Tackling

Shubham, who loves technology, couldn't stop thinking about the problem for days. He wondered why going to the airport had to be so expensive. He wanted to find a way to make it cheaper and safer for everyone, like other services. To understand how big the problem was, he talked to lots of people, even strangers at the airport. Almost everyone agreed: the cost of taking a cab was just too high.

Taking Initiative

Armed with this insight, Shubham resolved to act. He conceived an app idea that would enable people to share their cab rides with others headed in the same direction, focusing initially on airport routes. This innovation could potentially halve the cost of rides while streamlining airport transfers.

Despite possessing solid technical skills and prior experience as a software engineer in startup environments, creating something entirely new posed considerable challenges. It demanded not only courage but also expertise, time, and financial resources. Juggling his job at a startup with his burgeoning project proved increasingly difficult for Shubham.

Eventually, he came to the realization that pursuing his dream required his undivided attention. After much deliberation, he made the bold decision to leave his job and dedicate himself wholeheartedly to his vision, investing his time, energy, and savings into bringing it to fruition.

Creating QuicReach

With the support of his friends, Shubham built an app for both passengers and drivers. He spent a lot of time with them, making sure the app worked well. It was tough, using almost all his savings and staying up late many nights. But he was determined. His hard work paid off. QuicReach is now running in Bangalore and users really appreciated it.

As the business grew, Shubham's friends Aman Mishra and Pulkit joined him. They both have experience starting their own businesses and bring their own ideas to the team. Together, they have more than ten years of experience in making and managing tech products for consumers. Their experience helps a lot in making QuicReach even better.

Getting the First User

With the basic version of the app ready, Shubham had to tackle the challenge of getting drivers on board, attracting users, and making sure everyone stayed safe. Following advice from Paul Graham to manually recruit users, Shubham rented a cab and spent an afternoon searching for potential users at bus stops and metro stations. He asked people if they were going to the airport. After a few hours of hard work, he found his first user near the Tin Factory bus stop. And just like that, QuicReach had its first user.

How QuicReach Works

Our aim is to make booking cabs for airport trips easy and affordable. We offer a comfortable ride experience at a low cost through our shared cab service. Right now, we're focusing on airport travel, but we also plan to help people with trips within and between cities, Shubham explained.

How to Use QuicReach: 

  • Get the App: You can find it on both the Play Store and the App Store.
  • Sign Up: Use your phone number and some basic information to create an account.
  • Schedule Your Ride: Tell us when you need to be picked up and dropped off and give us your flight details if you're going to the airport.
  • Pay Ahead: You can pay up to 25% in advance to book your ride.

When you book a ride, our system looks for other people heading in the same direction. If there's a match, we combine the trips into one shared ride. Our verified drivers receive notifications about available rides and can accept them if they're free. Once a driver accepts your ride, you'll get their details so you can contact them directly.

We keep a buffer of 2 hours to prevent last-minute cancellations, so our cancellation rate is less than 2%, which is much lower than other platforms.

Affordable and Trustworthy

While other ride services keep raising prices, adding extra charges, and taking platform fees, QuicReach offers rides that are over 50% cheaper. Give QuicReach's shared rides a try for your next trip to the airport, starting at just ₹400, or opt for a private ride for only ₹650.

Business Model

QuicReach's business model is all about fairness and affordability. It ensures that drivers are paid fairly and protects users from sudden price changes. By using shared cabs, QuicReach creates a community feeling and keeps costs down. The company makes money by taking a small percentage from each shared ride. This helps them stay sustainable while keeping prices low for users.

Shubham's story, from a simple tweet to building a successful startup, shows his strong determination and creativity. QuicReach isn't just an app; it's a solution that helps thousands of people travel to the airport affordably and easily. As QuicReach keeps expanding, it's set to transform how people view airport travel, one shared ride at a time.

Share this story with your friends and family and try out the convenience of QuicReach for your next trip to the airport!

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