Three Friends From Amritsar Thought Of A Startup Idea While Sipping On Tea – Now Their Outstation Taxi Service Clocked Rs 15 Cr In FY24

A lot can happen over coffee.

But also…over tea. 

And that's exactly what happened with Akshay Bhasin, Ripul Aggarwal, and Vaibhav Mahajan. 

A short weekend getaway to Nainital and three cups of tea led to a startup idea aimed at making intercity travel, especially to and from tourist cities, easy, convenient, and secure.

“We had gone to Nainital from Amritsar. The journey was tiring – we haggled with local taxi drivers, explored other options, and finally reached Nainital after facing multiple hurdles. That's when we realized that travel to and from tourist cities and towns needed a concrete solution,” Ripul Aggarwal, co-founder of TaxiBazaar, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. 

Founded in 2017, TaxiBazaar is a leading outstation taxi provider in India with base offices in Amritsar and Ghaziabad.

It facilitates more than 2 lakh bookings annually and operates in 1,000+ Indian cities. Additionally, it provides direct airport transfers in 50+ countries.

In FY24, the travel startup clocked an annual turnover of over Rs 15 crore. 

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Hailing from Amritsar, Ripul Aggarwal, Akshay Bhasin, and Vaibhav Mahajan have grown up together – more as brothers than friends. The trio has studied engineering at the Guru Nanak Dev University.

Right after college, Ripul Aggarwal and Akshay Bhasin worked at companies like Practo and Delhivery in roles such as Sales Manager and Operations Manager. They also joined some travel startups to gain experience.

In the summer of 2017, Ripul, Akshay, and Vaibhav decided to take a break from their hectic, separate lives and go on a short trip to Nainital. 

“At the time, I was still in the final year of my college,” entrepreneur Vaibhav Mahajan tells Startup Pedia. 

Although this trip was meant to be enjoyed as a break, it turned into a travel headache. 

“I remember how bothered we were by seeing inconsistent prices offered by taxi drivers. We wanted to book in advance, but there was no chance. We even tried out other options, but nothing promised convenience and peace of mind. It all came down to how much you could haggle with the drivers,” entrepreneur Akshay Bhasin shares.

When they finally reached Nainital and had enough time to sit by Naini Lake and sip on hot cups of tea, each of them thought about the journey. 

“That's when I voiced what everyone was thinking: why is getting around in places like this still so painful? Vaibhav and Akshay immediately echoed my sentiments, and we discussed in detail how tourists are almost always either confused, stranded, or just frustrated with the entire process of booking local taxis and reaching tourist towns and cities,” startup founder Ripul Aggarwal explains. 

That's when, together, the three of them wondered if a solution could be built in the form of a service that connects travellers to reliable taxis in tourist towns – with fixed pricing and trustworthy, secure drivers.

This was how TaxiBazaar was born. 

Eventually, Ripul and Akshay quit their respective jobs, while Vaibhav decided to immediately start working on their venture along with his academics.

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EARLY JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

In 2017, TaxiBazaar was established as an outstation taxi provider service that came with the promise of zero hassle and complete comfort. 

To date, the taxi provider has remained focused on its foundational value of adding comfort to customers’ travels.

“We made the decision to remain bootstrapped, simply because we wanted to build for the long-term as well as to remain in complete control of our operations and ethics,” startup founder Akshay Bhasin remarks.Initially, TaxiBazaar started with an amount of Rs 5 lakh that came from the founders’ savings. 

The mission was seemingly simple: organize the fragmented market of intercity road travel. 

But there was a key challenge that had to be navigated: the startup founders had to convince local taxi drivers that they would earn significantly higher amounts of money if they completed round trips instead of one-way trips.

“We wanted TaxiBazaar to not just offer one-way trips to tourist towns. We planned to add intercity travel packages that included stops and sightseeing. While it was perfect for customers, we designed it in a way that the drivers could benefit from it as well,” startup founder Vaibhav states.

“I remember having endless conversations with local taxi drivers and driver union heads. Eventually, things fell in place,” Akshay Bhasin adds.

Apart from that, managing a bootstrapped startup with a small team came with its own set of operational worries that were eased over time.

Initially, the small tech team helped the founders build the platform at the backend while they did the groundwork of talking to local taxi drivers, understanding traveller pain points and worries, and creating fair systems that benefitted both sides.

In 2017 itself, TaxiBazaar went live in the startup founders’ hometown, Amritsar.

“Our vision since day one has been to offer transparent prices, verified drivers, and smooth outstation and intercity travel options. This is for tourists as well as for locals,” Ripul Aggarwal says.

TaxiBazaar began offering all-inclusive prices that covered tolls, taxes, driver charges, and fuel fill-ups. This became a major distinguishing factor for customers who could now travel with complete peace of mind throughout the journey.

Eventually, word-of-mouth recommendations spread in the market, and TaxiBazaar began scaling to Nainital, Shimla, Manali, and Mussoorie.

TAXIBAZAAR: MAKING TRAVEL EASIER, FASTER, AND SECURE

Today, TaxiBazaar operates as one of the leading and most trusted outstation taxi and cab providers in the country. 

In its early days, the service received fewer than 20 bookings in a month across 10 Indian cities.

Today, the global platform’s fast-scaling nature is evident from its numbers:

1. TaxiBazaar facilitates more than 2 lakh domestic and international bookings every year
2. Offering a clean and well-maintained fleet of cabs, the service is available in more than 1,000 cities across India.
3. To date, it has served more than 10 lakh customers and has a driver partner network of more than 1 lakh. 

“We've made it a point to keep increasing the value we add to our customers’ lives. They should be able to have stress-free travels every single time. From round trips, local sightseeing packages, and airport pickups and drop-offs – we do it all. For individuals, families, corporate clients, and more,” startup founder Akshay Bhasin tells Startup Pedia. 

TaxiBazaar continues to remain at the forefront of outstation taxi provider players in the country through its customer-first approach and operational consistency that pays laser-sharp attention to a customer's comfort and convenience.

AIRPORT TRANSFERS IN 50+ COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE

When people travel abroad, one of their main concerns is the airport pickup and drop-off system. Most travellers spend huge amounts of time figuring out if the local taxis and cabs parked at the Departures are legitimate, feasible, or simply overcharging.

As a taxi provider service, TaxiBazaar has stepped in to address this problem by providing secure and affordable airport transfers (pickups as well as drop-offs) to international travellers in more than 50 countries worldwide, such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Dubai.

“Having an Indian brand offering airport transfers makes Indian travellers feel safe and relaxed. They know that if it’s TaxiBazaar, it is tracked, secure, and convenient,” Akshay Bhasin remarks.

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GROWTH 

Today, the outstation taxi provider startup has a team of 35+ professionals that handle the areas of operations, technology, marketing, and customer success. 

Apart from newly launching international airport transfer services across 50+ countries, the team has introduced a B2B portal for travel agents and partners.

“This portal helps travel agents book airport transfers for their clients all across the globe. It makes international travel so much easier and secure,” Vaibhav Mahajan says.

In the first year of operations, 2017, TaxiBazaar made a humble Rs 4 lakh in revenue. 

In FY24, it scaled to Rs 15 crore of annual turnover.

Looking ahead, Akshay Bhasin, Ripul Aggarwal, and Vaibhav Mahajan are preparing to open their first international office in North America. 

“Very few have the fortune to start a business with childhood friends. I am just extremely grateful that we grabbed that chance and built TaxiBazaar from the ground up to help ease everyone's travels. And that's what we will always do: help people travel stress-free at affordable, secure rates. Because travelling means no creases on your forehead, only calm,” entrepreneur Akshay Bhasin concludes. 

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