SMPL
New Delhi [India], October 23: Before becoming an entrepreneur, Baldev Singh spent nearly a decade behind the steering wheel of an intercity taxi. Between 2010 and 2020, he travelled extensively across North India, driving passengers between cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, Dehradun, Haridwar and Chandigarh.
Those years on the road eventually became the foundation for what would become LOLO CAB, a technology-led Driver-First Intercity Mobility Network focused on connecting passengers, drivers and vehicle partners for city-to-city travel.
Singh's entrepreneurial journey began with firsthand experience of the challenges within intercity mobility. While passengers frequently had questions about luggage, additional pickups, extra kilometres and pricing, drivers faced a different set of uncertainties after completing a trip.
An intercity driver could reach a destination hundreds of kilometres from home without a confirmed return booking. Waiting for another passenger could take hours or even days, while food, fuel, maintenance and other operating expenses continued. In some cases, drivers had to return without a passenger, bearing fuel and toll costs themselves.
Having experienced these challenges personally, Singh began considering whether technology could improve the way intercity travel worked for both passengers and drivers.
By 2020, the idea had developed into a clear question: could a technology platform connect intercity passengers and drivers in a way that improved transparency, vehicle utilisation and demand for return journeys?
That question became the starting point for LOLO CAB.
Singh began learning about entrepreneurship, technology, business operations and product development. With no prior technology background or established startup ecosystem around him, he started building the concept from the ground up. The brand name, LOLO CAB, emerged from a family discussion with his wife and was chosen for being short, simple and memorable.
However, the journey soon encountered an unexpected setback. As LOLO CAB was beginning to take shape, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the travel and mobility industry to a near standstill. The financial impact extended to Singh's family, and according to his account, he eventually lost his home and had to return to driving a taxi to support his family.
The startup journey was temporarily put on hold, but the idea remained.
When circumstances stabilised, Singh resumed working towards the venture while continuing to drive. Another challenge followed. With limited experience in technology development, he initially relied on an external local agency to develop the technology platform. According to Singh, the product did not meet the business requirements, resulting in a financial loss of nearly Rs 20 lakh.
The setback became a turning point in his approach to technology.
Singh realised that building a technology company required a deeper understanding of product development, technology architecture, teams and execution. An important relationship then helped change the course of the project.
He had previously met software engineer Popin Singh Panwar through a taxi booking before the pandemic. When Singh was trying to understand how to build LOLO CAB's technology more effectively, Panwar became an important source of guidance, helping him understand technology selection, product development and building and managing a technology team.
In 2024, TRIPTOTA SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED was established as the company operating the LOLO CAB brand.
Today, LOLO CAB is building its intercity mobility offering around One-Way and Round Trip travel, while developing LOLO Shared Intercity. The latter is designed around passengers travelling on similar routes sharing available seats in commercial intercity taxis, with the objective of improving vehicle utilisation, creating structured return-route demand and making intercity travel more accessible.
For Singh, the vision extends beyond building another cab-booking application. LOLO CAB is being developed around the needs of both sides of the journey passengers seeking transparent, reliable and convenient travel, and drivers looking for better vehicle utilisation, predictable demand and reduced empty-return journeys.
The transformation from taxi driver to founder did not happen overnight. It was shaped by years on the road, financial setbacks, the disruption of COVID-19, technology challenges and the process of learning an entirely new industry from the business side.
Singh did not discover the challenges of intercity mobility through a market report. He experienced them firsthand.
From driving passengers between cities to building a technology platform for intercity mobility, his journey has become the foundation of LOLO CAB's Driver-First Intercity Mobility Network, a company built around a problem he knows from the driver's seat.
Website: https://lolocab.com/
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