An app to rent a car by the hour.

Byline: Mutaher Khan

Anyone who doesn't own a vehicle knows how anxiety-inducing it is to think about running all those errands, the stops and the route to be taken so you pay the lowest fare. And with car prices through the roof, what can you do? Enter Roamer and it might just get a bit more convenient.

Roamer is an Islamabad-based mobility startup that rents you cars by the hour, giving a fixed rate ahead of the ride depending on your specifications with no fuel, distance or peak charges.

Download the app, sign up, enter your location, select intra or intercity option, type of car, duration required, date and time etc. With each alteration, it will give you an updated flat price.

The app offers three categories to choose from: high-end Sedans, mid-range Compact with the likes of Cultus, Swift etc and Mini that includes Mehran and Alto.

When the driver arrives, pay at the start of the trip. At the moment, cash is the only acceptable mode of payment but the startup is trying to integrate other electronic channels like wallets and bank cards.

The base hourly fare starts from Rs460 for Mini and goes up to Rs700 for Sedans. For every subsequent hour, the additional cost is somewhere between the range of Rs270 and Rs430. Their own revenues come from charging a certain commission on the total earnings of the supplier, as is typical in pretty much all shared economy models.

The duo also closed a small seed round from a network of private investors earlier this month and plans to use the bulk of that towards marketing.

With consumer angle addressed, let's turn our attention towards the supply side. Roamer has this Uberised network of car owners and drivers who list their vehicles on the platform to make an extra buck on the side. For those who don't have a car and want to sign up are linked up with those who do, with the terms of engagement left for the two parties to decide between themselves.

Offering both intra and intercity services, does Roamer have a core offering? 'I wouldn't really call one or the other our primary offering but based on usage, there is obviously greater volume for within city and a more recurring demand. On the other hand, outstation has bigger ticket size, which makes it quite lucrative too,' Chief Technology Officer Ali Moeen says.

Let's get to the point all of us have in mind: how does one even plan to stay in the game when there is fierce competition from few of the best-funded global and regional companies...

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