Electric cab service BluSmart, seen as a rival to Uber, suspended services days after a market regulator’s investigation found a co-founder misused funds at an affiliate company and bought a luxury apartment with money allocated for electric vehicles.
BluSmart rode India’s clean energy boom but its sudden suspension puts the livelihood of thousands of drivers at risk.
With more than 8,000 taxis, it set up charging hubs in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to take on Uber and Ola, both ride-hailing services that largely use gasoline-powered fleets.
In an email to customers on Thursday, BluSmart said: “We’ve decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app”, without giving any reasons.
Amid concerns expressed on social media about customer funds blocked in BluSmart wallets, the email said the company will only “initiate a refund within the next 90 days if services do not resume before then”.
BluSmart did not respond to Reuters queries.
The company, backed by bp ventures, an arm of British oil giant BP, told Reuters in 2023 it had a 9% market share in New Delhi. — Reuters
