Fast Track plans to raise $60 million to expand

City-based Fast Track Call Cabs, India’s third largest cab service provider in terms of vehicles, plans to raise $50 million-$60 million to expand its presence across India, said its Chairman M Prabhu.

Fast Track operates in a few cities, including Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Tiruvananthapuram and Kochi, and wants to operate in all major tier-I cities in the next couple of years, he told BusinessLine .

“We are in talks with potential investors for the last two years. However, only now, we are pursuing aggressively to raise external funds,” he said.

Till now, Fast Track has been funded by its promoters. However, going forward, funds will also be required for technology, creating infrastructure and fund vehicles, he said.

Entry of cab aggregators like Ola and Uber has given stiff competition for the 17-year-old Fast Track, which had a monopoly till two years ago. “We are now facing enormous challenge from them. We want to get our customers back,” C Ambigapathy, Managing Director, Fast Track, told newspersons.

For instance, to encourage customers use its app for bookings, Fast Track has introduced 60 per cent discount on all bookings made through its app from the airport and the Central Railway Station. The app helps avoid booking over the counter and Fast Track saves on employee cost, he said.

Nearly 25 car aggregators have gone out of business with the arrival of companies like Ola and Uber, he said. However, Fast Track has survived for the last 17 years.

In Tamil Nadu, Fast Track has nearly 50 per cent market share, he claimed. Currently, 5,000 cabs ply in Chennai and 10,000 in Tamil Nadu, he said.

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