Sahyadri Smart Safe Private Limited (S3), the newest entrant in the taxi-hailing business in Mumbai has found an effective way to cut short on fuel and operating costs for cab drivers in the city. The company will be setting up a mobile Bio-Diesel distribution pump which will travel around Mumbai and supply fuel to taxis under its own fleet.
For those who don’t know, Bio-diesel is predicted directly from animal fats, vegetable oils and wasted cooling oil and can be produced on demand with no concerns over pollution compared to petroleum. It doesn’t need any kind of modification as is the case when using CNG and is more efficient than regular diesel, even on being blended. While the bio-diesel blend has been a regulation in several countries, India had only recommended it last year and hasn’t made it mandatory yet. With its lower than conventional price, Biodiesel will not only reduce fuel costs but also result in lower emission making the environment cleaner.
S3 Cabs pals to employ the biodiesel distribution through a patent which is registered as ‘Oxy Power’ involving a fitment which would need to be installed on every car being made to use the technology. While Oxy Power is estimated to reduce fuel consumption by 20-30 per cent, the use of biodiesel will now make room for a further 5-10 per cent of fuel costs, thus resulting in a total of 40 per cent savings on fuel for taxi owners.
The mobile biodiesel distribution van will roam around the city of Mumbai with fixed timings at South Mumbai and near all entry points. S3 says the company will only roll supply fuel for its own fleet of taxis and will distribute to other vehicles on surplus supply.
Adding to the details of the announcement, S3 Director, Sohel Kazani said “The average consumption of fuel by the cab owners based on 300km per day travelling amounts to 30 litres of diesel, and that equals to INR 2200 per day. A 40% reduction would mean INR 880 saving per day on fuel account or as much as INR 26,000 approx a month by using bio-diesel and the oxy-power unit. A pilot study made us understand that it keeps the fuel systems and fuel injector cleaner thus reducing the vehicle maintenance cost and increasing the mileage. It will also help in additional employment generation. We would like to work closely with the government to make the shift to biofuels happen and we hope that they lower the GST on bio-diesel to 5%”.
S3 cabs now operate over 3000 taxis in Mumbai after having launched last month and offer voice recording and SOS services with CCTV in every cab for passenger safety. Users will be able to book a cab through the S3 app, through a phone call or via service representatives across the city with additional options like a tour guide and language options.