Hyderabad: Whether you are travelling to or from or within Hyderabad, you can now enjoy the life and culture of the city by taking unlimited pit stops of your choice, all due to the advent of self-drive cars.
Self-drive car rentals are increasingly changing the course of mobility in Hyderabad. While in the past, travellers relied on chauffeurs for riding across the city, the emergence of the GPS-enabled smart phones has pushed the self-drive segment up in most car rental businesses, with about 1,200 cars plying in the city.
While techies prefer cars for long drives over the weekends, NRIs rent automatic cars in preference to geared vehicles. Mr G Dinesh, who rented a car for fortnight in Hyderabad, said “I liked the experience of renting a self-drive car in India and its condition was really good. It was pretty much the way it is in the United States. Without a chauffeur, renting a car affords privacy and the convenience of driving at our own pace.”.
These car rentals offer a wide range of cars like compact hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, MUV’s and sometimes luxury cars. The price varies based on the type of car and can be hired on hourly, daily, weekly and monthly plans to meet business travel, leisure travel and weekend getaway needs. Since it is based on duration, the distance does not count.
Mr Samuel D, a software engineer working in Hitec city, said, “We rent a car over the weekends as we are uncertain where our job will force us to move next. This model of renting cars allows comfortable access to a personal car without having to bother about monthly down-payments, services and insurance.”
The expenses come to about '3000-'5000 while automatic cars are a bit expensive when hiring for a day. Airport continues to be a drop-off place for self-drive car services.
