Displaced from top, TN taxi operator eyes VC funding

The entry of aggressive players like Uber and Ola led to a complete turnaround of the industry. Now, Fast Track is keen to rope in an international investor to dilute its stake to the extent of 51-60 pc i.e. roughly about Rs 300 cr. This comes post a due diligence valuation done by Ma Foi, two years ago. If all goes well, this could accelerate expansion into a pan-Indian operator. 

Having missed a golden opportunity to cash in on the first mover advantage employed by taxi cab apps, the Chairman of the company M Prabhu says, “Funding has been an issue for us to compete with big brands that have a huge market cap. We also lost out as we did not go for technology upgradation,” he told DT Next. That seems to be the rationale for Fast Track to introduce its rejigged appbased platform that offers discounted fares (60 pc) for bookings done at the airport and railway station.  

From a radio taxi services operator, the 52 fleet-size business grew into a mega entity with 15,000 vehicles (encompassing multiple brands across the utility to luxury range) in Tamil Nadu. Fast Track also acquired 49 per cent stake in Bharati Call Taxi few years ago, but this did not boost its growth. Prabhu said the business had been “badly affected as its year-on-year growth declined from 5070 per cent to 5-10 per cent now.” However, Fast Track is upbeat as it believes that  its brand is strong and the market is only growing. 

“We have a strong footing in Tier I and Tier II locations,” he said, emphasising that the company does not believe in surge pricing. Streamlining its operations and shutting down unviable locations such as Pune and Kolkata are part of the company’s renewed strategy. With the average billing per vehicle ranging from Rs 50,000-80,000, Prabhu is hopeful that the Rs 500 crore worth enterprise would regain its lost supremacy. Owning less than 500 vehicles, it adds 200 to 500 new partners every month. Also, almost 10,000 drivers, who had switched over to the competitors, were coming back to Fast Track. 

Apart from the call taxi services, Fast Track also has car rental services that are given for outstation travel. “Car rental is a growing segment and hence, we have  invested Rs 50 crore to add 500 new cars for outstation rental,” said C Ambigapathy, MD, Fast Track.