Namit Jain, Founder, ONN Bikes
Namit Jain is the founder of ONN Bikes, India’s first and leading bike rental service startup with a presence in over 10 cities, managing a fleet of over 2500 bikes. His broader vision to is provide every Indian an access to mobility which makes ONN Bikes a very innovative platform for providing an easy and affordable mode of alternate transport through multiple models. He is a Chartered Accountant by qualification with prior experience in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In conversation with Dominic Rebello, Namit says that ONN Bikes will revolutionize the way people address their daily travel problems & encourage new age folks to adapt newer ways to an affordable mode of transport based on their needs.
What is the idea behind ONN Bikes?
The initial thought of a bike rental service occurred while on a trip to Goa. The hassle free process of Bike rental in Goa with the complete freedom of not being dependent on a third party service (cab service) along with low cost of rental further fuelled the concept into building a planned two-wheeler rental service structure called ONN Bikes.
ONN Bikes first launched long term rentals, quickly diversifying into short term rentals as well. The launch of hourly model was a huge success, following which the company is now focussing on a scooter sharing model to solve the problem of affordable commute in India.
The vision is to create affordable mobility solutions around two wheelers. This space has been looking for an alternate option other than public transport and cab transport since long. Point to point intra-city connectivity, faster commute time, reliable and affordable model built around two wheelers – this is the need of the hour and ONN Bikes is on a journey to provide for the same.
Can you throw some light on your corporate tie-ups?
Corporates enter into a long term lease agreement to provide additional benefits to its employees under the Employee Benefit Scheme. Long term rentals also provide cost benefits to organizations as employees in transit have access to vehicles for commuting from one location to another without relying on high cost travel modes that large and medium organizations usually depend upon.
With the growth of ecommerce in India, third party logistics service providers prefer long term leases as it provides an alternative to acquisition of high cost vehicles, savings on maintenance and servicing and offers an incentive to retain employees as they eventually become owners of the two-wheelers.
Why should one choose ONN Bikes as a leasing partner?
ONN Bikes has been a pioneer in this space. Some of the companies that we have been associated with are Uber, Ola, Swiggy, Foodpanda, Zomato, Gozefo, ChaiPoint. Some of our clients have been with us since more than 2 years now.
Over time, we have been successful in providing quality service to these companies and have helped them solve a major problem. ONN Bikes sets very high standards in customer delight; our continued relationship with some of the industry leaders is an indication of the same.
We also have the flexibility in terms of lease tenure, vehicle make, rent to own model etc, which makes for a customized solution for every clients needs.
You recently launched Dock Less Service?
Dock-less scooter sharing service for point to point connectivity is the way forward for this industry. We recently announced the launch of OTP based ‘Dock-less scooters’ from Bengaluru that will allow commuters to hire two-wheelers for point-to-point connectivity. ONN Bikes has been piloting this model for over two months in certain pockets and will soon introduce this service across all its service locations in India. The Dock-less service will further enhance last mile connectivity and provide commuters with an additional commute option that is efficient and affordable. With the Dock-less service, commuters can rent two wheelers on the ONN Bikes app for a one way route and post the journey can park the vehicle at an accessible location for others to utilize the same service.
Where do you see yourself five years down the road?
Scooter sharing will be the next preferable commute option in India. At least 30 percent of market share of cab transport will be taken over by this industry. The advent of electric scooters will further fuel the growth of this sector.
Next five years will see major disruptions in the field of affordable mobility in India and ONN Bikes will play a major part in this disruption.