FREE RIDE INDUSTRY: OTHER SERVICES BUSINESS SUMMARY “Free Ride”revolves around the idea of making transportation and travel less congested, eco friendly and one which can be monetized. We plan to introduce a new mode of public transport –“Light Geared Bicycles”in selected pockets of certain cities which would be used by corporate employees for travelling to and fro between the nearest subway\metro\local station and the company office. There would be parking stations at major locations where the cycles would be locked using magnetic locks. The company employees would be provided smart cards which would be used to unlock the bicycles from the stand. The cycles will then be used for transportation and later they can be parked back into other docking stations which are sprawled across the city (or locality). The use of these cycles also earns revenue for the company. The employees earn carbon credits (due to saving on carbon emission by avoiding normal modes of transport), which can later be traded by the company in international markets (1 Carbon Credit currently earns 20 Euros in the market –which can be realized by the savings of around 6 employees over a 5 km distance yearly). While earning carbon credits and being recognized as “green organization” serv es as the incentive for the companies, zero transportation cost, congestion free, good for health ride serves as the incentives for the employees. Another source of revenue would be the advertisements on the cycles and the parking lots. This could form a major chunk of our revenues in future since most of our cycles would be plying in busiest areas of the city. BRIEF BUSINESS OVERVIEW If you live in a large city, such as Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore, odds are that you have faced the acute problem of automotive congestion, especially in the areas where lots of offices are located or the areas which are commercial hubs of the city. This is a problem faced in cities world over. Add to it, the problems of carbon emission and excessive gasoline usage and we are sitting on a problem which is only going to take graver proportion in future. A few
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making transportation and travel less congested, eco friendly and one which can be
monetized. We plan to introduce a new mode of public transport – “Light Geared Bicycles” in selected pockets of certain cities which would be used by corporate employees for
travelling to and fro between the nearest subway\metro\local station and the company office.
There would be parking stations at major locations where the cycles would be locked using
magnetic locks. The company employees would be provided smart cards which would be
used to unlock the bicycles from the stand. The cycles will then be used for transportation
and later they can be parked back into other docking stations which are sprawled across the
city (or locality). The use of these cycles also earns revenue for the company. The
employees earn carbon credits (due to saving on carbon emission by avoiding normal
modes of transport), which can later be traded by the company in international markets (1
Carbon Credit currently earns 20 Euros in the market – which can be realized by the savings
of around 6 employees over a 5 km distance yearly). While earning carbon credits and being
recognized as “green organization” serves as the incentive for the companies, zero
transportation cost, congestion free, good for health ride serves as the incentives for the
employees. Another source of revenue would be the advertisements on the cycles and the
parking lots. This could form a major chunk of our revenues in future since most of our
cycles would be plying in busiest areas of the city.
BRIEF BUSINESS OVERVIEW
If you live in a large city, such as Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore, odds are that you have faced
the acute problem of automotive congestion, especially in the areas where lots of offices are
located or the areas which are commercial hubs of the city. This is a problem faced in cities
world over. Add to it, the problems of carbon emission and excessive gasoline usage and weare sitting on a problem which is only going to take graver proportion in future. A few
solutions have been implemented so far, the most famous being the one introduced in
London, where one has to pay to bring in their vehicle to the downtown district. However
none of the existing solution attempts to solves the problem completely and neither have
these been very effective to say the least.
A major chunk of this traffic is caused by people going to their offices and that‟s why
congestions are prominent in the areas where you have high concentration of offices. We
believe this problem can be address if we can get these “white collar employees” to use an
alternate transport system which causes lesser congestion and greener as well. Of course
this initiative has to be driven by all the stakeholders involved which are possible only if we
can give them certain incentives to use this system. Hence both the companies and their
employees have to have certain incentives which go beyond reducing congestion on the
road.
The importance of solving the problems mentioned cannot be overstated. The way our cities
have been expanding, this problem is only going to take greater proportions if not addressed
now. The entire urban infrastructure is on the verge of collapsing thanks to the brimming
roads, and different public transport systems plying on them. The problem is not limited to
congestion; the ever increasing pollution level and depletion of natural fuels are other major
issues which need to be addressed soon. The service offered by us targets these problems
and provides other benefits which serve as a strong incentive for the company andemployees to start using this service. The companies earn carbon credits and goodwill
amongst stakeholders for encouraging their employees to use our service. To the employees
it provides a free transport arrangement, a healthier lifestyle and other fringe benefits like
being able to wade his\her way through in traffic jams. We believe that our service offering is
an answer to all the above problems and benefits in way which is both profitable and
sustainable in long terms.
Our service is called “Free Ride” which is basically a short haul hi-tech bicycle renting
service available to corporate whose employees can use this service to ply between their
office and metro station or bus stops. These cycles have gears for smooth riding and can be
picked and parked at multiple locations sprawled in an area. The service remains free for
employees. The companies earn carbon credits for their employee using this service who in
turn pay us a nominal maintenance charge and a cut in carbon credit. We also sell the
advertising space on the cycles and the parking stands which form a major source of our
The users are issued smart cards with RFID. This card can be swiped to release a bicycle
from docking stations. The details of the cards are verified at our central server through
GPRS network. Once a cycle is released its kilometer readings are communicated to the
server along with the details of person releasing it. After the cycles are plugged back in, the
details of the distance travelled are also communicated back to the central server. This
information is used to calculate carbon credits per smart card. The cycles have a magnetic
lock which opens only when the card is swiped at the docking station. So when a cycle is not
locked at a station you know precisely who is riding it. Any damage or loss to cycle can be
traced backed to the person using it.
There are no direct competitors to service which we provide. Though there are substitutes
but none of them come close to the benefits and value offered by our service. We have a
distinct advantage over all other public transportation system. The service has something to
offer for all the stakeholders involved directly or indirectly.
Free Ride is a futuristic project which if not taken up today will become the default option
tomorrow. Global warming is a concern which more and more countries and companies
have started taking seriously. In developed countries there has been a clear trend towards
becoming a more responsible corporate entity and the trend will catch up with the rest of
world too. Then there are problems of unhealthy life styles which almost all corporate
employees suffer from. Free Ride offers not only a healthy and environmentally friendlysolution to these issues but a win-win opportunity for every stakeholder. Each of them is
either earning or sparing money, all that in an ethical and respectful way. In a nutshell, Free
Ride is a profitable business project impacting the economy and the environment in a
sustainable way.
This business idea has the potential to be extremely successful. This is because it acts as a
Win – Win situation for all its stakeholders. The stakeholders involved for this concept are:
Corporate, Employees/Users, Government and Society. Now the Free Ride concept would
benefit them in the following ways:
Corporate: It enables the company to earn Carbon credits – something which would
become extremely important in the coming days. Moreover it is also a positive social
initiative from the company
Employees/Users: They are able to save costs, avoid road congestion and traffics. Also
bicycle riding promotes the health of the individual and is extremely helpful.
Technology Enabled Bikes: We would be buying the geared bikes and would be fitting the
smart card enablers in them so that they can be locked in the bicycle stand and the data
from the bicycle can be transferred to the bicycle stand.
Smart Card: These are the cards which would contain vital information in them (asmentioned earlier). These cards would be provided to all the employees of the company that
avail the Free Ride service.
Networked Parking Stand: This is also a vital part of the infrastructure. This would be the
parking stands which would be connected to the central database and would pass on all the
information from the bicycles to the central database. This would help in tracking the bicycles
and also in calculating the distance travelled and the carbon credits earned subsequently.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS & MARKETING PLAN
GO TO MARKET STRATEGY
The company would sell three services:
1) Bike Renting
2) Advertising and
3) Facilitation of delivery of Carbon Credits (Carbon Emission Reduction Certificates)
BIKE RENTING
The service we offer involves renting of bikes to employees of our corporate customers by
positioning our bicycle stations at the doorstep of the company offices and at the exit of the
closest train or Metro station. The main selling propositions for the target customer are as
follows.
The companies will be able to earn carbon credits thanks to the kilometres covered by their
employees on bicycles instead of other carbon emitting modes of transport. On top, in terms
of image, in a world where green concern is increasing, having employees opting for
environmentally friendly transport means is an asset. Companies will be able to sell this
green positioning as part of their CSR and ethical values.
Our bikes would be far better in terms of speed, control and riding comfort for employees.
They will come equipped with gears for swift acceleration and better control and
manoeuvrability for city riding conditions. It will make negotiating traffic jams much easier.Besides, the service is free and will enable them to save the money they would spend on a
Each such CER certificate sells in the spot market for 20 Euros each. The companies can
sell their carbon credits to Power utility firms and others in Europe and other Kyoto Protocol
Nations.
The proceeds from the sales of carbon credits would more than offset the services chargeswe would charge them and even allow them to reward their employees – especially the ones
who contribute most to emission reductions.
BIKE RENTING & CARBON CREDITS
SALES CHANNELS STRATEGY AND SALES TARGETS
We intend to build a sales team of in-house sales representatives to showcase the
entrepreneurial spirit of the company while getting in touch with potential customers.
There will be one salesman in each of the targeted city, whose main task will be to get in
touch with companies, visit them several times, close the deal and sign the contracts with
support of one team member having a legal background. Each salesman will report to the
national relationship manager.
As the business grows, sales representatives will be hired to support the growth accordingly.
companies are housed together in a complex there are always common parking spaces
available.
For the area around metro stations, we would approach the state government in order to
get a leased area at competitive rates. Since the government also stands to gain from agreener state, the government willingness to provide support would be higher.
OPERATIONAL HASSLES – MANAGING SERVICE IN PEAK HOURS
Solution: Maintain wagons which would ferry the bikes from the overloaded areas to the
empty bicycle stand in order to minimize the waiting time of people. This service would
be used during peak hours.
TAKING CARE OF VANDALISM AND THEFT OF BICYCLES
Solution: Using technology to secure the bicycles in the bicycle stand so that they can
only be removed through the use of smart cards. Also forced removal of the bicycle from
the stand would lead to the triggering of alarm in the vicinity. We can also hire a few
people for security at the metros.
HOW TO ENSURE COMFORT FOR EMPLOYEES WHILE RIDING THE BICYCLE?
Solution: The Bicycles would be advanced bicycles with gears in them. The gears would
help in minimizing the effort of the bicycle ride. Moreover there would be a cycle cart
provided in the front of the bicycle in order to unload stuff of the employees while they
travel.
MARKETING PLAN ON-LINE / OFF-LINE
Our marketing campaign focuses on creating interest and increasing awareness at local
level. No need to spend money advertising at national level but rather targeting specific
business areas.
The brand image must spread the ideas of dynamism, youth, health and trendiness. The
bikes, colourful and all similar, will be easily noticeable on the roads. They will be the best