In Tatarstan, a new startup has been launched, Chelnok, a transport service that combines the advantages of large minibuses with the flexibility of regular taxi routes. Simply put, passengers can use buses as a taxi and get to their destination without a transfer and a fixed route. The bus may change along the way, depending on emerging orders, and pick up passengers along the way.
In the world, such services are called transport on demand. In contrast to standard buses, the interior of the car becomes fuller during work, because the service adapts to real demand and the travel comfort is usually higher. It is possible to order and pay for a trip via the application. At the time of publication of the note, Google Play already has the Shuttle app and the beta version of Shuttle Driver, the number of downloads is still small.
The project is presented as a private project, but regional media indicate the proximity of this startup to structures near KAMAZ. This is confirmed by the authorship of the above applications (KAMAZ Digital) and a recent entry in the official accounts of Chelnok: Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov tested the service at the KAMAZ training ground in Naberezhnye Chelny.
Interestingly, in all the presentation photos JAC Sunray acts as a means of transport. KAMAZ has an ongoing project with JAC for medium-duty trucks Compass (a Chinese company provides a license for the cab), and in addition, at the suggestion of KAMAZ, JAC became a partner in the assembly of vehicles under the Moskvich brand at the former Renault plant Russia.
In addition, at the beginning of the summer of this year there was still unconfirmed (and undisputed) information about the upcoming Russian assembly of JAC machines at the Sollers-Ford plant in Yelabuga (Tatarstan). According to preliminary data, the car that replaced the Ford Transit, which was assembled here until recently, should be the JAC Sunray.
- In May 2022, JAC planned to sell Uzbek assembled sunbeams in Russia by the end of the summer, but this has not happened yet.
- “Behind the wheel” can be read in Odnoklassniki.
Like a taxi, only in a comfortable minibus, which during the journey changes the route and picks up passengers. Everything is controlled through the application.
