On the eve of World Environment Day, Gensol Mobility, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based renewable energy services provider, Gensol Group, launched its all-electric 'Blu Smart' mobility platform in Delhi-NCR, in association with Mahindra Electric. The service, which is the first of its kind in India, bundles together services like ride hailing, car sharing and shared charging into a single platform.

As part of the ride-sharing service, Delhiites can book cabs through the 'Blu Smart Mobility' app on their smartphones for intra-city commutes (with the option of inter-city travel coming up soon). The company has a fleet of 70 Mahindra Electric eVeritos at the time of launch, and plans to scale up to 500 operational EVs by April 2020. What could potentially be a big draw for users is the absence of 'surge pricing'; the cab aggregator will be implementing a flat rate of Rs 14-15 per kilometre.

The next step for Blu Smart in the months to come is its car-sharing platform that would allow the leasing or subscribing to an electric vehicle. The company is aiming to launch this service with a range of luxury EVs, including the Hyundai Kona, Nissan Leaf and the BMW i3, and introduce more mass-market battery-operated vehicles, further down the line.

Rounding off Blu Smart's e-mobility solutions will be a host of charging stations available across the city. With 15 charging points already operational, the company has another 50 in the pipeline by August 2019. Each outlet is capable of 15-20kW DC fast charging and uses the Bharat DC charging standard. Be it cab aggregator or a private EV owner, the charging stations can be used by any individual for a stipulated fee. Gensol is also working towards introducing charging ports based on the European CCS or the Japanese CHAdeMO standard, sometime next year.

With metropolitan cities being the company's prime focus, Blu Smart services are rolling out in the National Capital Region, including Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, with Mumbai planned for next year.