‘Invest in time and save money’ – PickMe
View(s):PickMe, Sri Lanka’s first mobile taxi hailing company, has said that an efficient cab service can prove to be a great asset in terms of cost as well as time management for users.
“Gone are the days when the option of owning a vehicle could be considered as a value asset. In a scenario where vehicle prices keep skyrocketing and congestion on roads is getting to be out of control; it would appear far more advantageous to some to replace ownership with a reliable taxi service,” the local company said in a media statement.
CEO of PickMe, Zulfer Jiffry says that what their service offers customers is a way of rethinking their investment in transportation, without the added cost of large interest payments to leasing/borrowing institutions or the hassle of driving around on congested roads, trying to find almost non existent parking spaces during rush hours.
He says that according to their calculations, the minimum investment in any kind of vehicle as opposed to using their taxi service is extremely high.
“The numbers add up, because the cost of owning a vehicle is that much more than that of using a taxi service. For example, the total cost of leasing, driving and maintaining a mini car such as a wagon-R would calculate to approximately Rs. 40,000 per month for a mileage of 240 km.”
Mr. Zulfer believes that most of these costs could be avoided and travelling made much simpler both in terms of expenditure and time, by hailing a cab for daily commutes to work or for other daily chores such as school drops and pick-ups. He explains, “If one were to use a mini car from our service for 24 working days covering a distance of 10km per day, it would cost approximately Rs. 12,000. Even customers who might choose the option of travelling in luxury and hail a car every day would only have to pay a sum of approximately Rs. 17,000 per month for 240 km. In both cases the monthly leasing of an equivalent vehicle itself would cost 2-3 times more than what they would spend on taxis; and add to that the fuel and maintenance costs they would have to incur. Therefore, the assumption that taking a taxi for your daily travels is a luxury ordinary middle class people cannot afford is in fact not entirely true.”