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The Day: February 19, 2024. The Company: The Wise Travel India Cabs (WTicabs), a mobility startup specialising in corporate car rentals and employee transportation services (CCR & ETS). The Achievement: The 16-year-old cab service debuted on the NSE SME platform at a 32% premium over its IPO price – at INR 195 against the issue price of INR 147.
The WTicabs stock saw a 48% premium in the grey market prior to its listing and was oversubscribed 160 times, with the retail allocation booked 108 times. The 94.68 Cr IPO was open for subscription from February 12-14, and the price band was INR 140-147 per share.
If this sounds impressive, looking at two core elements may explain WTicab’s success story. First, it started operations before Ola’s ride-hailing service or the ubiquitous Uber hitting the Indian roads. Its founders – Ashok Vashist, Hema Bisht and Vivek Laroia – were seasoned professionals with decades of experience in the transportation sector. In fact, Vashist’s career spanned more than three decades and prominent roles across renowned car rental firms. It was the era when Mega, Meru and EasyCabs ruled India’s radio taxi services.
The founding team’s thorough understanding of the corporate mobility sector, especially the rising demand for a reliable platform offering tech-driven and environment-friendly solutions, led to the launch of WTicabs in 2009. Its goal was to create a significant presence across the B2B value chain through car and coach rental and leasing, customised solutions for employee transportation, and airport pickups, drops and transit transfers.
The company set up an asset-light model by partnering with local operators and deepened its market penetration beyond metros by reaching Tier I-III cities. It has also entered the B2C segment, providing city rides and outstation services for one-way and round trips.
If understanding an industry inside out is the primary condition for business success, operational excellence through technology integration is next in order.
“It helped us gain a competitive edge within the transport sector’s grinding competition,” said founder and CEO Ashok Vashist.
WTicabs has integrated AI-ML and cloud solutions for optimum fleet management and quick scalability and added electric vehicles (EVs) to support the green initiative embraced by most corporate houses. Besides, it has automated day-to-day operations like cab booking, billing and transactions, thus minimising human errors and speeding up hassle-free service delivery (more on its tech offerings later).
It caters to 500+ corporate houses and covers over 250 cities and 17 airports in India. The firm is also operational in Dubai and is working on other overseas plans. It earns through long-term corporate contracts, customised pay-per-use packages based on employee headcount, route complexity and operational hours, and cost-efficient pay-per-ride options for added convenience. Together, these models ensure competitive pricing and consistent revenue growth. WTicabs rode past the INR 400 Cr revenue mark in FY24 and eyes 20.25% in the current financial year.
How WTicabs Carved A Niche By Building Credibility, Staying Frugal
Corporate mobility has long been a critical challenge for businesses, primarily due to unreliable vendor services, high costs and an increasing need to meet safety and sustainability concerns. Managing employee commutes, airport transfers and fleet operations remains a logistical nightmare for many companies.
Given their professional exposure, Vashist and the other two founders were well aware of these gaps. They came together in 1996 when India’s economic expansion gathered momentum due to a supply surge fuelled by newly implemented reforms. The concept took shape through endless discussions over coffee and fructified after years of planning and deliberations.
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But producing a change in the corporate transportation paradigm or solving long-standing issues in an unorganised sector cannot be a journey without hurdles.
“First, we had to convince large organisations why they should shift from their current vendors to WTicabs. That, itself, was a daunting task. Our team had to build credibility to assure corporate houses of our service services. However, operational challenges like fleet management, driver reliability and security issues persisted,” the CEO said. “Developing an in-house fleet management and cab-booking system also demanded technical expertise and a lot of upfront investments.”
WTicab’s asset-light model, steady revenue stream and overall frugal approach helped at the time. It started as a bootstrapped business, with the founders pooling their savings to fund the venture. It also minimised opex and ensured scalability and profitability by forming strategic alliances with local fleet operators. Plus, its focus on corporate client acquisition, long-term client relationships and service excellence quickly gained traction and helped establish a stable revenue stream. Additionally, the business reinvested its revenue to meet growth capital requirements instead of raising external funding.
“The initial challenges we faced served as benchmarks, paving the company’s growth path and leading to important milestones along that route,” said Vashist.
WTicab grew exponentially over the years, hitting a CAGR of 45.41% before the pandemic.
From Coping With Covid To A Technology Leap For Growth
WTicabs demonstrated remarkable market expansion through a multifaceted growth strategy prior to the pandemic. The company leveraged a diversified service portfolio, including corporate transportation and airport transfers, which enabled consistent revenue growth. Strategic market penetration was achieved through fleet expansion and targeted partnerships with businesses and institutions, allowing WTicabs to establish a strong presence in both urban and semi-urban markets.
When the pandemic struck in early 2020, public and private transportation was hit the hardest, as India slapped strict lockdowns time and again in the following two years. Urban mobility was literally crippled (locations where WTicabs used to run most of its business). The only silver lining: Covid-19 saw an inclination away from public transportation and a preference for private modes when travelling for essential activities.
In a bid to cope with the near-zero revenue period of 2020–2022 and keep the business afloat, WTicabs reduced operational costs (through process streamlining and contract renegotiations with service providers/vendors), leveraged technology to comply with health protocols and diversified its services to include essential deliveries and employee transportation for critical sectors. The company also optimised resource allocation and prioritised workforce retention through flexible work hours and proactive support systems.
When the world emerged from the pandemic, the founders were keen to pursue new market dynamics for sustainable growth. Commenting on the post-Covid landscape, Vashist said the team was committed to empowering businesses and commuters facing mobility challenges. So, they decided to analyse emerging trends, delve deeper into digital-first solutions and fulfil specific requirements by customising their solutions.
For instance, the company took note of the hybrid commute model – a work arrangement where employees split their time between on-site and remote working – and adjusted its services accordingly. Customer trust was regained through advanced safety measures. And its in-house tech stack integrated advanced digital tools for process excellence and customer satisfaction.
WTicabs now uses AI-ML solutions for route optimisation, predictive maintenance (PdM) and real-time tracking to ensure efficient fleet management. Plus, its adoption of cloud-based systems enables the company to scale quickly, providing seamless integration of new locations and services.
It is also adding more EVs to the fleet and looking at alternative-fuel vehicles (bio-CNG and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles) as businesses increasingly adopt ESG standards today. Capital market regulator SEBI now mandates all listed companies in India to identify ESG risks and detail their mitigation strategy and contingency plans against those risks.
WTicabs’ Expanding Horizons
The Indian corporate mobility market is experiencing rapid growth as businesses increasingly seek reliable and efficient CCR & ETS solutions to support their employees. The ETS market, valued at $6.1 Bn in 2023, is projected to more than double by 2030, while the CCR market is expected to surge to $8.8 Bn from $4.7 Bn, according to Eco Mobility’s Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).
Frost & Sullivan also indicates a new mobility market worth $90 Bn by 2030 as the global trend gradually shifts towards shared commuting instead of solo driving to workplaces. Given these projections, WTicabs and its ilk have huge growth potential and may bring new tech-driven modalities to the traditional work commute modes.
While WTicabs’ primary focus is the domestic market, the company has set its sights on global markets, including London, the Middle East and the Far East. It will also introduce new offerings such as car rentals, chauffeur-driven vehicles and shuttles.
The company will continue to scale operations in India, using data analytics to identify underserved markets and forge strategic partnerships with corporate houses and airport authorities. Its ability to innovate and scale quickly will set it on a strong growth path, ensuring it stays competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
The journey of WTicabs from a bootstrapped startup to a listed entity and one of the biggest corporate mobility service providers is a perfect blend of vision, innovation and resilience. It also proves that the transportation culture can change fast, and one should evolve just as quickly to be ahead of the curve. Vashist and his team had the insight and the speed. All they need now is global validation.
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