Commuters in Bengaluru, NCR get the blues as e-cab firm BluSmart pulls plug | Delhi News

This closure follows a Sebi ban on BluSmart’s co-founder, Anmol Singh Jaggi, and his brother for alleged fund misappropriation at Gensol Engineering.

BluSmart, India’s first cab company with an all-electric fleet, suddenly pulled the plug on its services on Wednesday, leaving its users in Delhi-NCR scrambling for alternatives and its drivers – many of whom had no idea they had reached a dead end – in the lurch.
The Gurgaon-headquartered company, which also had a major presence in Bengaluru, suspended services a day after market watchdog Sebi banned brothers Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from the securities market for alleged misappropriation of funds in Gensol Engineering, the company they co-founded.
Anmol is also co-founder of BluSmart.
Abrupt suspension of BluSmart’s service caused a commuting crisis for many. One of them is Jagriti Kumar, a Gurgaon-based IT professional. “Where I live, near Dwarka Expressway, cabs are the only viable public transport. BluSmart was the only one I could rely on to get to my office in Udyog Vihar. Cancellations were rare, and the fare consistent at Rs 400-450. I will now be at the mercy of unpredictable surge pricing and drivers of other services who often cancel,” she told TOI on Wednesday afternoon as office goers tried to book rides but the BluSmart app would not take any bookings.
Priyanshi Saha, who works in Cyber Hub, is another. Priyanshi used BluSmart because it had standard fares and she preferred a non-polluting EV. “I tried to book and could not as the date and time slots would not show up. I called my friends who also had the same experience,” said Saha, who lives in Sector 56.
Abhijeet Ghosh, who works in central Delhi, said he discovered BluSmart after the pandemic when he returned to work and found it to be a “fabulous experience, barring the rare occasion”. “I was a regular user for two years. The drivers came before time, were polite, the a/c functioned, and the car made no noise. It was far superior to other cab aggregator services in Delhi. I would often converse with drivers and a majority seemed to be reasonably happy with the employer. The charges for fund siphoning must be investigated. But it is sad that a good car service has been shut down,” said Abhijeet, who too started reading up to understand what had happened after his booking would not go through on Wednesday evening.
“For me, BluSmart stood for its reliability,” said Ashish Malik, a Ghaziabad resident who used the service primarily to travel to and from Delhi airport. “My airport travel is at odd hours and I could always count on them. There were hardly any last-minute cancellations, unlike other apps,” he said.
Kanika Tomar, a Noidabased consultant, echoed Abhijeet. “I started using BluSmart after getting fed up with unpredictable pricing and rude drivers on other platforms. It was such a relief to have clean, quiet EVs and courteous drivers,” she said.
BluSmart began operations in 2019 as an early bird with the EV industry still nascent and the pandemic yet to come, to capitalise on the potential for an energy transition in public transport.
The bet paid off as BluSmart established itself as a differentiated service in Gurgaon and Delhi, its USP not just a noiseless electric fleet, but clean cars and a punctual service. In a highly competitive market dominated by Uber and Ola, it carved its own niche and aloyal user base.
Rachit Gupta said well-behaved drivers and clean cars were what got him hooked to BluSmart in 2022. “I used it for my daily commute between Delhi and Gurgaon. The cars always came on time,” said Rachit, adding the service should continue.
BluSmart regulars were also worried about funds in their wallets on the app. Kanika said she had Rs 2,500 in it, Ashish Rs 760 and Abhijeet Rs 1,700. “There’s been no communication from the company about what happens next,” said Kanika.
Somil Aggarwal, a Gurgaon-based marketing professional, said he had read about the company’s troubles in recent weeks but hadn’t thought services would stop. “We will be back to services where cabs are not always clean, drivers can be rude, and cancellations happen last-minute,” he said.
Aditya Parolia, a Supreme Court lawyer who has fought numerous consumer cases, said all customers should immediately email the company for a refund. “The situation raises various questions on the functioning of startups and their liability towards all interested parties. All consumers should immediately write to the company and make a record with evidence, which can be a simple snapshot of the wallet. This will help ascertain their claim in case the company management is taken up by any other company,” explained Parolia.
Trouble for drivers
The blow was a lot harder for BluSmart drivers, many of whom had no clue when they started their workday that it could be their last. Some drivers TOI correspondents spoke to were under the impression that the app was glitching. Others said they had only picked up pre-booked passengers on Wednesday.
The parking bay the company had at T3 in IGI was empty. A few cabs idled in the vacuous space, the boards, signage, and passengers gone. One of the drivers present there, Di leep, said he received a message from the company asking him not to report on Thursday. “We were told a vendor would be checking the cabs, so we’re not supposed to take them out on Thursday,” said Dileep.
In BluSmart’s case, the company owns the cars and drivers collect wages. “If the company shuts down, many of us will be in trouble. We don’t own the cars and can’t just shift to other platforms,” Dileep said.
Arun, a driver from Faridabad, said, “We were paid Rs 3,200 for a 10-hour shift and Rs 4,300 for a 12-hour one. There were also daily bonuses for meeting targets. It was a good system. I’m not sure what’s happening now as I didn’t get any rides on Wednesday.”
Development after Sebi crackdown
The development comes a day after markets regulator Sebi barred the two promoters of Gensol Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi from the securities market until further notice due to fund misappropriation and governance issues. Both the promoters have also been barred from serving as directors or in any key managerial position at Gensol.
Sebi’s investigation revealed that Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi had used part of the funds that were raised through loans for buying electric cars for BluSmart to purchase a luxury flat in Gurgaon. The promoters had also channelised the funds to related parties and used the same for unrelated expenses.
The turn of events at Gensol has raised concerns over the viability of BluSmart which had been able to offer consumers a different choice in a mobility market otherwise being dominated by largely Uber and Ola. The firm which was understood to be considering becoming a fleet partner of rival Uber may find it difficult to reach such an arrangement after the Sebi crackdown on Gensol, analysts said.