Romanian entrepreneur launches car rental service for businessmen and expats

Young Romanian entrepreneur Valentin Tanasa has launched a car rental service that targets mainly business clients and expats. Tanasa plans to invest some EUR 1 million into premium cars and aims to reach 1,000 active clients in the first year of activity. The service, which is called Alpha Cab, is currently available in Bucharest and Ilfov county, but Tanasa aims to expand it to other big cities in Romania such as Constanta, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov, and Iasi. The company plans to reach a fleet of 50 Mercedes cars, including E class, S class, and Vito/Viano. “The Alpha Cab idea came from a personal need which showed me that there is a very important niche on the Romanian market. There is currently no professional and organized car rental service dedicated to executives and expats, that offers them a standard they are used in any other country where they’re traveling or working,” said Valentin Tanasa, general manager Alpha Cab. The Alpha Cab service can be accessed via the online platform, by phone, or via the mobile app available for Android and iOS. The average value of a trip should amount to some RON 50 (EUR 11), and the payment can be made online by card, through the app, or by card in the car. Alpha Cab is a company with Romanian capital launched in 2015. Valentin Tanasa, the company’s founder and general manager, has been run several businesses in education, beauty, and marketing.\, in the past seven years. Several other services available on the local market, such as BlackCab and UberSelect, also target the premium clients, such as executives and expats. Romania, the first country in Europe where Uber launches its premium service Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com