Call a chauffeur to get around Bangalore

Owning a wonder on wheels is no big deal but manoeuvring it around the city can be quite a task. Pot-holed roads, irksome auto drivers and nose-diving two-wheelers are enough to drive you to the loony bin. Add to the list that extra peg in the party or a groggy early-morning shift and you’ve already sworn never to be at the wheel again!

Well, if you like to have your cake and eat it too here is an easy option: hire a chauffeur! “That must be frightfully expensive,” I hear you shriek in horror. Rest easy, there is indeed a way out. Welcome to the world of hire-a-driver service, a novel concept launched by EZI Drive to take care of all your travelling woes. And the charge? You have to read it twice to believe it.

EZI Drive makes available drivers at abysmally-low rates—a four-hour’s drive will cost you Rs 150, while you have to shell out Rs 250 for an eight-hour stint. For out-station trips the charge is Rs 400 per day (including food allowance) but you have to take care of the driver’s lodging.

So iron out those creasing brows and pick up the phone—a courteous chauffeur is just a call away! Most drivers will know a few regional languages and also speak English. This service runs 24/7 but after 9.30 pm you have to pay an extra charge of Rs 50 as travel allowance and post 12.00 am the charge is Rs 100.

Managed by V Syed and Rajeshwari Omkumar, EZI Drivers has about 100 drivers on the rolls. “We have over 2500 satisfied customers that come from every nook and corner of the city,” says Syed. It also has the option of valet-on-hire for weddings and private functions and the charge for that is Rs 300 per day.

The head office of EZI Drive is in Jeevan Bheemanagar and there are plans to open branch offices in RT Nagar and BTM Layout soon. Says Syed, “We plan to open offices in all major South Indian cities and finally all over India.”

Is anyone listening?