Snap-E Cabs wants to take on big players in Kolkata with its on-demand EV fleet

When it comes to commuting in Kolkata, most people would opt for the iconic yellow Ambassador taxis. However, now, ride-hailing services are taking a piece of the taxi market in the city.

The ‘City of Joy’ is among the top five major cities in India with the worst air quality on account of its high vehicular emissions. According to a 2022 report by the US-based health organisation, Health Effects Institute (HEI), Kolkata has an annual average of 84g/m3 of PM2.5 concentration in the air—17 times the WHO recommended safe limit of 5g/m3.

Seeing this as an opportunity to disrupt, Kolkata resident Mayank Bindal launched Snap-E Cabs in August 2022. The on-demand, electric ride-hailing platform—with its fleet of over 600 Tata Tigors—aims to become the first unicorn from Kolkata. 

The company has leased these vehicles with the help of Mufin Green Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Finance, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank. It also has the option to purchase them once the lease is over.

But a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) was not Bindal’s initial plan. 

As a former operations head at the BSE-listed telecom infrastructure provider, Steelman Telecom Ltd, Bindal leveraged his experience to first start an EV charging network in Kolkata. However, he soon realised the immense potential in the electric ride-hailing space and pivoted. 

This, according to the founder, would bring some additional revenue and ensure full utilisation of the charging assets he had planned to set up later.

In 2022, Snap-E Cabs bought 100 Tata Tigor EVs and listed them on Uber. After gaining some experience and making early operational revenue, Bindal decided to make Snap-E’s own app.

“We have had multiple pivots when it came to the Snap-E application. After serving on Uber for two months, we introduced the Snap-E app in October 2022,” Bindal tells YourStory.

According to the founder, the original app—built by a Coimbatore-based boutique studio—was full of bugs. Forty days later, when the team realised the app would not work for them, they adopted the hyperlocal delivery stack of no-code software solutions company JungleWorks.

Within a month of the app’s launch in October 2022, Snap-E Cabs started seeing great demand—more than 30,000 app downloads in just two weeks. Today, it has over one lakh downloads on Google’s Play Store and is also available on the Apple App Store.

“We have a deadline to introduce the new app within March, and we are well on time to do so,” he adds.

Fleet services

“In August last year, when we became confident about our operations and strategy we started building our team and our app,” Bindal says, adding that Snap-E Cabs has about 60 employees and 600 drivers.

At present, the company completes nearly 2,500 rides per day and clocks an average revenue per car of Rs 70,000 per month. Bindal adds that a 2.5 km ride with Snap-E would cost Rs 10-15 less than a petrol car booked on Uber.

He claims the bootstrapped EV ride-hailing company generates over Rs 2 crore in revenue each month. It plans to close FY24 with an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 35 crore.

The startup has also partnered with various MNCs in Kolkata to transport employees, ensuring the cabs are not idle. This strategy has helped the company maximise the revenue generated per car.

The company ensures its cars’ conditions are consistent, unlike with Ola or Uber, where issues like malfunctioning air conditioners or unpleasant interiors may occur.

In fact, the company plans to partner with EV companies to acquire new batteries for its fleet when the cars age and the lithium batteries deteriorate—reducing their efficiency. 

Charging infrastructure

Bindal emphasises a lot on asset utilisation—for the charging network and the cabs.

For its charging requirements, Snap-E Cabs partners with charge point operators, like Jio BP, and commits to a minimum usage on their infrastructure. After conducting a feasibility check, if there is per unit profitability, these providers proceed to build a charging point exclusively for Snap-E cabs.

At present, the company has an exclusive network of over 700 charging points in Kolkata. It also receives numerous offers from third parties, including state government offices, to utilise its charging infrastructure.

"We would love to extend our network to others, but for now, almost all of those resources are required for our own operations. Once we have met our own needs, we will consider opening our infrastructure to others," he explains.

Funding

Snap-E Cabs was bootstrapped with Rs 22 crore and received technical expertise and consultation from Bindal’s erstwhile company, Steelman Telecom, owned by his father, Mahendra Bindal.

In February last year, the startup raised $2.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures to improve the platform’s underlying tech and expand to other geographies within India.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the India taxi market size is estimated at $20.61 billion in 2024, expected to reach $38.90 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 13.55% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

At present, Bindal says the company receives more requests for cabs than it can properly fulfil. Snap-E Cabs is constantly trying to add new cars to its fleet and aims to add 2,000 cars by FY25.

It also plans to expand beyond Kolkata soon, intending to double its fleet count and enter neighbouring markets like Bhubaneswar and Raipur.

While Snap-E faces no significant competition in Kolkata, the potential entry of competitors like Blu Smart—the Gurugram-based on-demand EV company with deeper integration into the clean tech space—could disrupt Snap-E's market dominance.

However, the founder believes that the on-demand cab business will become more regional, with different players dominating specific regions. 

He is confident that Snap-E's first-mover advantage in Kolkata and where it plans to expand its operations will help the company maintain its course.