Self-drive car rental facility launched in Patna

PATNA: State transport minister Santosh Kumar Nirala and secretary of the department Sanjay Kumar Agarwal launched the state’s first-of-its-kind self-drive car rental facility in Patna on Saturday. People can now rent a car of their choice for whatever duration they want for self-driving.

The transport department has given licence to a private firm ‘Zoomcar’ to provide this facility in Patna. “Anyone interested in renting a car can do so by using the app of the firm,” Agarwal said. He added as of now 25 cars, including hatchbacks and SUVs, were available for rent in the city and more numbers would be added to the list. On the first day of its launch, four cars were rented in Patna.

Sharing the details of the service, Agarwal said the cars can be hired on hourly, daily or monthly basis for up to three years. “Car rent will vary depending on models. People may have to shed additional money for renting a car on weekends. A minimum Rs 45 per hour has to be paid for a car rented without fuel and Rs 70 per hour with fuel. A car can be rented for six months, 12 months, 24 months and 36 months. They have to pay a monthly subscription fee of minimum Rs 13,999 and maximum Rs 33,999 per month,” Agarwal added.

Manager of the car rental company Anuj Kumar said they would also come up with the option of renting a car for a week. “If we get good response, we will also introduce high-end luxury cars,” he added.

For renting a car, a customer has to first download the app and upload their Aadhaar card, driving licence and photograph. These documents will be verified before handing over the car. Customers also have to give detail of their requirement with time and date from when they will take the car and when they will return.

Customers can either pick the car from Saguna Mor office of the company or get it delivered at their home, for which they have to pay an additional amount of Rs 300.