Premium ride-hailing's biggest problem isn't the cars; it's reliability: Sahil Jindal

As India's premium mobility space evolves beyond simply offering more expensive cars, reliability is emerging as a key differentiator. Trevel, a premium EV Ride-hailing platform, believes dependable service, punctual pickups and a consistent customer experience matter more than luxury alone. In an exclusive interaction with HT Auto, Sahil Jindal, Co-founder of Trevel, spoke about the shortcomings of the current ride-hailing ecosystem, why cancellations remain a major pain point, how Trevel plans to address them, and where he sees premium mobility in India heading over the next few years.

Q: Premium ride-hailing in India has mostly been about offering better cars. What made you believe that reliability, more than luxury, is the real gap in the market?

Sahil Jindal: So, let me first explain what Trevel is. Trevel was conceptualised a few years back by the founders. The idea was to enter the premium cab-hailing segment. At that time, BlueSmart was doing well, and the thought was to go one step further by introducing premium EVs like the BMW iX1, which had just launched.

When the BlueSmart situation happened, we realised there was a much bigger gap to fill. We spent around six months understanding the problems faced by BlueSmart and other cab-hailing services. We figured out that while the choice of car mattered, reliability was the bigger issue. People were booking rides and the cars weren't coming. Cars weren't clean. These are common problems with aggregator platforms.

For me, safety was another concern. If I wanted to send my daughter in a cab today, I wouldn't feel comfortable. The same applies to my wife or mother. We wanted to solve that issue. Initially, we considered cars like the MG Windsor, the Kia EVs and the BYD models. Over time, we realised customers preferred Kia over BYD, and going forward we also plan to add BMWs to the fleet.

Reliability is important because today, half the time people think that if they book a cab, it won't come. We wanted to break that perception by ensuring that if someone books with us, there's a 110 per cent chance that the car will arrive at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time.

Because our fleet is owned or leased by us and our drivers are on payroll, they don't have the option to cancel trips. Our intent has always been a zero-cancellation policy. Once the driver reaches every time, reliability automatically follows.

We've now reached a stage where people believe that if they book Trevel, the car will arrive before time. We've cracked that, even at scale, and we believe that will remain our biggest USP.

Q: Ride cancellations and driver no-shows have become a common problem. In your view, what's the biggest reason behind this, and how do you plan to solve it?

Sahil Jindal: With the aggregator model, drivers often have multiple apps running at the same time. For example, if you've booked a ₹200 ride and while coming towards you another app offers them a ₹500 ride, they'll cancel yours and take the other one.

Apart from that, most drivers are micro-entrepreneurs who own their cars and are trying to maximise returns from whichever platform they're on. Our model is different. Our drivers are salaried employees. Along with their salary, they receive incentives for keeping the car clean and reaching on time. Those are part of our standard operating procedures. Drivers don't have the option to reject or cancel rides. They also can't see the next ride until the current one is completed.

Q: Trevel operates a premium EV fleet. When customers book your service, do you think they are consciously choosing an electric vehicle, or are they primarily looking for a reliable premium cab experience?

Sahil Jindal: Delhi's EV policy, Haryana's EV policy and the overall awareness around electric mobility have definitely made people more conscious about EVs. We have different categories in the app, and there are customers who specifically ask for certain cars. Some say they only want the Windsor, some ask for the Kia, while others prefer the ZS EV.

Earlier, there were also customers who wanted a particular driver, although that's not possible. Our intent is very clear. We want customers to feel like they are travelling in their own car, not in a cab. The driver opens the door for you, asks if the air-conditioning temperature is comfortable, and every car comes with water bottles, tissue paper and charging cables—things you would normally keep in your own vehicle. That's the comfort level, and that's the USP we want to offer.

Q: There are already plenty of players in the premium mobility space. What do you think Trevel is doing differently that will make customers choose your platform over the others?

Sahil Jindal: The biggest difference is that we own and operate the fleet ourselves, and the drivers are on our payroll. That allows us to maintain a zero-cancellation policy because drivers simply don't have the option to cancel trips.

We also focus heavily on standard operating procedures, customer comfort and consistency. The idea is that every customer should have the same premium experience every single time, whether that's punctual pickups, clean cars or trained chauffeurs.

Q: Right now, the focus seems to be on airport transfers and business travel. Do you see Trevel becoming an everyday commuting option as well, or will it continue to cater mainly to premium travel needs?

Sahil Jindal: Currently, we're focusing on four verticals. The first is city rides, where customers travel from point A to point B, whether that's home to office, office to meetings or for personal engagements. We're already seeing good demand, especially during morning hours.

The second is airport transfers, which are important because the average order values are much higher than city rides. The third is hourly rentals. A lot of individuals book these for corporate requirements. While the travel may be business-related, the booking is still made by the individual rather than directly by the company. The fourth vertical we plan to introduce is outstation travel.

Q: Looking ahead, where do you see the premium mobility market in India over the next few years? What do you think customers will expect that they don't today?

Sahil Jindal: I think once we reach a sizeable fleet, we'll be able to introduce instant bookings. Currently, all our rides have to be scheduled at least an hour in advance. The day we start offering instant bookings, like aggregators do today, it will add a lot of value because while people know what time they need to leave for work, they don't always know when they'll return. Someone might plan to leave at 6 pm but end up finishing work at 6:30 or 7 pm. That flexibility is something we need to solve by introducing instant bookings in the future.

Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape.