Onn Bikes Hyderabad Activa rental Experience
This post is a quick review of my experience renting a two wheeler from ONN Bikes in Hyderabad early May 2018.
As I planned a Hyderabad visit, I was looking for a ride. ONN Bikes operate in Hyderabad and were my first choice- they have some of the cheapest rentals in the industry, GST included in price and overall no reason not to opt for their service. I had a done a trip with them to Wayanad last year but hadn't had an opportunity to rent from them, as they didn't operate in some of the cities (like Pune, Udupi, Coimbatore etc) where I wanted a bike.
Though I would have preferred to rent from Friday night till Monday early morning, because almost all agencies operate only in day time, I was forced to rent only between Saturday morning till Sunday night. It was fine with me in this case, as I figured out how to use public transportation to reach Hyderabad airport on Friday night n Monday morning.
Concern 1: Price drop
When I had booked (20th March) I was charged Rs 540 for 1.5 days of booking. This is after 10% first time user discount. When I checked in May, the rentals had dropped, now same booking costs Rs 458, without any promo code. Some 82 Rs drop in price- not a big some, but I didn't gain from booking early.
Above: My booking confirmation in which I had paid Rs 540
Below: Screenshot taken later showing a drop i price.
Vehicle changed
I had carefully selected Honda Cliq- as it was a new model and I wanted to experience it. But a day prior to my booking, I got SMS that Cliq is not available, they will assign me Honda Activa-my purpose of carefully selecting a model, booking months in advance is gone for a toss.
I have a feeling that Honda has delayed delivery of Honda Cliq, forcing ONN Bikes to remove it from their fleet and provide substitute to those who had booked cliq. Indian version of Honda Clik is way different from the one I had ridden in Thailand. I guess I will have to wait longer to experience it.
Pickup
The precision of pickup location was missing-The website and booking confirmation SMS showed slightly different points. Anyway with couple of phone calls I could validate which one is correct and reach there on time. The venue was about 2.5kms from the Fab Hotel M where I was staying- reached by walk, stopping for tender coconut en-route.
The location seemed ONN Bike exclusive. (I've seen some locations in BLR- like one in Koramangala where multiple agencies- wheelstreet, RB etc share same location.
Rest of the process was fine. There was a 30 minute delay because the staff had gone for breakfast But no relaxation on return time. If I fail to return by 9PM on Sunday, I have to pay one additional day rent... I got the Activa with empty tank, which has become a standard practice across all bike rental companies now a days, despite their websites claiming bikes will be given with full tank fuel. Activa was fairly new, without any damages.
I used it for about 250 kms and added about 500 worth of fuel. I think I gave some 100 Rs fuel extra while returning, which is my loss and rental company's gain due to empty tank policy.
Unfortunately it didn't strike me to click some good photos of the Activa. Few I've clicked were only to document existing scratches etc pre-collection, not worth showcasing here.
Overall it was a good experience, despite some minor inconveniences. I would still recommend ONN Bikes in Hyderabad- they have about 3 locations- you can select the one convenient to you. Even fleet size is decent- from super cheap to mid range enough choices are available.
I could manage my Hyderabad weekend trip in about 2000 rupees for local transport (2 pax Airport to hotel & hotel to airport bus fare was Rs 210*4= 840, + 540 rental, 500 fuel and some Rs 60 in parking fee etc). A mobile holder would have been a great accessory to have- wasn't very convenient to stop, open my mobile and check for direction. [I've a complete list of suggestions here]
As I planned a Hyderabad visit, I was looking for a ride. ONN Bikes operate in Hyderabad and were my first choice- they have some of the cheapest rentals in the industry, GST included in price and overall no reason not to opt for their service. I had a done a trip with them to Wayanad last year but hadn't had an opportunity to rent from them, as they didn't operate in some of the cities (like Pune, Udupi, Coimbatore etc) where I wanted a bike.
Concern 1: Price drop
When I had booked (20th March) I was charged Rs 540 for 1.5 days of booking. This is after 10% first time user discount. When I checked in May, the rentals had dropped, now same booking costs Rs 458, without any promo code. Some 82 Rs drop in price- not a big some, but I didn't gain from booking early.
Below: Screenshot taken later showing a drop i price.
I had carefully selected Honda Cliq- as it was a new model and I wanted to experience it. But a day prior to my booking, I got SMS that Cliq is not available, they will assign me Honda Activa-my purpose of carefully selecting a model, booking months in advance is gone for a toss.
I have a feeling that Honda has delayed delivery of Honda Cliq, forcing ONN Bikes to remove it from their fleet and provide substitute to those who had booked cliq. Indian version of Honda Clik is way different from the one I had ridden in Thailand. I guess I will have to wait longer to experience it.
Pickup
The precision of pickup location was missing-The website and booking confirmation SMS showed slightly different points. Anyway with couple of phone calls I could validate which one is correct and reach there on time. The venue was about 2.5kms from the Fab Hotel M where I was staying- reached by walk, stopping for tender coconut en-route.
The location seemed ONN Bike exclusive. (I've seen some locations in BLR- like one in Koramangala where multiple agencies- wheelstreet, RB etc share same location.
Rest of the process was fine. There was a 30 minute delay because the staff had gone for breakfast But no relaxation on return time. If I fail to return by 9PM on Sunday, I have to pay one additional day rent... I got the Activa with empty tank, which has become a standard practice across all bike rental companies now a days, despite their websites claiming bikes will be given with full tank fuel. Activa was fairly new, without any damages.
I used it for about 250 kms and added about 500 worth of fuel. I think I gave some 100 Rs fuel extra while returning, which is my loss and rental company's gain due to empty tank policy.
Unfortunately it didn't strike me to click some good photos of the Activa. Few I've clicked were only to document existing scratches etc pre-collection, not worth showcasing here.
Overall it was a good experience, despite some minor inconveniences. I would still recommend ONN Bikes in Hyderabad- they have about 3 locations- you can select the one convenient to you. Even fleet size is decent- from super cheap to mid range enough choices are available.
I could manage my Hyderabad weekend trip in about 2000 rupees for local transport (2 pax Airport to hotel & hotel to airport bus fare was Rs 210*4= 840, + 540 rental, 500 fuel and some Rs 60 in parking fee etc). A mobile holder would have been a great accessory to have- wasn't very convenient to stop, open my mobile and check for direction. [I've a complete list of suggestions here]
As long as companies think only about themselves ,they are sure to say goodbye to business
ReplyDeleteThe precision of pickup location was missing >> isnt the most important thing -given that they have taken money from the customer and now they have to offer a service of handing over the vehicle ?
No fuel ? How ridiculous and inconvenient can one make it to the customer ,i dont think any better than this.and no its not your fault for returning the vehicle with fuel.Any person will not drive such that the last drop of petrol is over,so yes this is the company's way of putting customer in distress by zero petrol and then making money by returned vehicles.
Staff gone for breakfast ,this is where everyone makes the customer pay for being a customer -one of the many things they least care about.its not about 30 minutes,its the value of time and having to delay your day by 30 mins ,lack of ethics
Yes. These are not good, but trust me I've seen worse with other agencies- like giving bikes which are in very poor condition, last minute cancellation without providing alternative, trying to claim huge damage charges and so on. Relatively above experience was lot better.
DeleteThe 15-30 min delay, giving bikes with empty tank etc have become a standard practice unfortunately.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful blog with such a nice information and we also provide
ReplyDeletebike rental service in hyderabad, you can check our website related to this
service. visit our website www.startrides.com
welcome
Delete