Avis India, a car rental service provider, has announced the resumption of its self-driving as well as chauffeur-driven car services across 19 cities, as lockdown restrictions have been eased and travelling is allowed again. For the self-drive car segment, the operations will resume in 8 cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. In addition to the self-drive cars, the chauffeur-driven vehicles will also hit the roads in 19 cities including Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
Speaking on the development, Sunil Gupta, MD & CEO, Avis India commented, “The current COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected travel. People will now prefer travelling in smaller groups as compared to before. Hence, we expect to see a significant spike in demand for personal mobility post lockdown, and resuming our self-drive car and chauffeur-driven vehicle services will empower our customers for ‘safe travel experience’. In the wake of COVID-19, we have enhanced our already robust cleaning protocols, including utilizing disinfectants that protect our customers and employees against pathogens. Our primary focus has always been and remains the health and well-being of our employees, chauffeurs, and customers.”
Avis India also said it is conducting daily sanitization of all of its vehicles. A special emphasis is given to high-contact surfaces, both inside and outside of the car, such as seats, steering wheels, and door handles. It is mandatory for all of the chauffeurs to wear face masks at all times. The employees, chauffeurs, and customers are scanned with infrared thermometers at the main gate itself. Anyone with potential symptoms is barred from entering the compound, thereby ensuring maximum security for our both employees and customers.