Palanquin Built on Trust, Driven by People
Founded in Guwahati in 2022 by an IIM Kozhikode alumna, Palanquin was built on the belief that every guest deserves courteous, professional service, and that a woman-led company from Northeast India could set the standard for what car rental looks like here.
Started in Guwahati, Built on Trust
Queen Bhardwaj, IIM Kozhikode alumna and founder of Palanquin, started this company in July 2022 with a simple conviction that people travelling across Northeast India deserve to be treated with genuine care, not just as bookings to be processed.
She had seen firsthand how travel experiences in the region were shaped entirely by chance: whether the driver was in a good mood, whether the vehicle had been maintained, whether someone actually picked up the phone. She believed that with the right people, the right culture and the right systems behind them, a car rental company could offer something consistently better.
Palanquin was founded as a women-led company with a promise at its centre of courteous, professional service backed by people who take their responsibility to every guest seriously. That promise is still what drives every booking, every trip and every hire we make.
"I wanted to build something that would still work exactly the same way five years from now, not because of me, but because of the systems."
Queen Bhardwaj, Director
Systems First, Then Scale
Before adding vehicles, Palanquin built the operating layer, written SOPs for drivers, a structured vendor onboarding process, a pricing framework and a bookings workflow. The v9 SOP, updated in June 2026, covers 8 sections, 4 annexures, 15 driver subsections and a 14-point pre-trip vehicle checklist. It is not a document that sits in a folder. It is the operating manual.
In 2024, we built our own Duty Management System, a proprietary platform covering trip booking, driver dispatch, live GPS tracking and digital duty slips. It is live at duty.thepalanquin.co.in and is used for every corporate trip we run.
These are not features we market. They are how we operate.
B2B and B2C: Two Tracks, One Standard
Corporate clients, from diverse fields of manufacturing, technology, FMCG, consumer durables and many others use us for ETS contracts, monthly retainers and MICE events. They get digital duty slips, GST invoicing and a dedicated account manager.
Individual guests, be they tourists, families, solo travellers exploring Northeast India, get a WhatsApp-based booking experience backed by the same trained drivers and written standards as our corporate operations. The two tracks do not overlap and neither is treated as secondary. Today, we operate more than 100 cars in the Northeast region.
We also added self-drive car rental in 2026 with 24 cars across hatchbacks, SUVs and MUVs, for guests who prefer to drive themselves.
From Founding to Where We Are Now
Founded: Guwahati, Assam
2022 Palanquin Ecotales Private Limited incorporated in July 2022. Operations began with a small own fleet serving individual guests and early B2B clients including technology and manufacturing companies. Registered with GeM for government contracts. Incubated under StartUp Assam.
B2B Growth & SOP Development
2023 Corporate client base expanded across manufacturing, technology and hospitality sectors in Guwahati. First version of formal driver and operations SOPs developed, the foundation of the v9 SOP now in use.
Fleet Expansion & Website Growth
2024 Fleet expanded to include Innova HyCross and Kia Carens variants. Website launched and built out to cover all service categories. Google rating reached 4.9 with 225+ reviews.
Consolidation and Focus on Systems
2025 SOPs designed and formalised collating all user experience and feedback over the years. More B2B clients onboarded across sectors and locations.
Technology, Fleet & Self Drive
2026 Development of our proprietary Duty Management System began and went live, covering trip booking, driver dispatch, GPS tracking, digital duty slips and vendor payment management. Deployed at duty.thepalanquin.co.in. Self-drive car rental launched with 24 vehicles. Vendor empanelment process formalised. 100+ fleet deployed.
The Principles We Operate By
Written Over Verbal
Every important decision, process and standard at Palanquin is written down. SOPs, rate authorities, vendor agreements, trip records, if it is not documented, it does not count.
People, Not Systems
Technology handles the records. People handle the guests. No chatbot, no IVR, no automated reply, a real team member responds when you contact us, at any hour.
Accountable by Default
Digital duty slips, GPS-verified distances, structured vendor payments, accountability is built into how we operate, not added as a feature for premium clients.
Northeast India First
We are built around Assam and the Northeast, its roads, its rhythms, its permit requirements, its tourism potential. Our drivers know these routes in a way no app can replicate.
B2B and B2C: Both Done Right
Corporate clients and individual guests are handled through separate, dedicated service tracks. Neither is an afterthought. Neither cross-subsidises the other.
Dignity in Operations
From how we onboard drivers to how we structure vendor payments, we aim to build a company where everyone involved, guest, driver, vendor, team, is treated with consistency and respect.
Queen Bhardwaj: Director & Founder
Queen holds a BS in Chemistry, an MBA from Gauhati University and a one-year hybrid MBA in Strategy from IIM Kozhikode. She founded Palanquin in 2022 after identifying a structural gap in how car rental companies in Northeast India were managed, not a gap in vehicles, but in systems, standards and accountability.
She manages B2B client relationships, corporate account strategy, technology decisions and the overall direction of the company. She is also the primary point of escalation for all corporate accounts and the author of the company's SOP framework.
MBA · Gauhati University
MBA Strategy (1-year hybrid) · IIM Kozhikode
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Palanquin offer car rentals in Guwahati?
Yes. Palanquin is a Guwahati-based car rental company offering both chauffeur-driven and self-drive vehicles. Bookings can be made via WhatsApp at +91 60037 47123 or through the website.
Does Palanquin provide airport pickup and drop in Guwahati?
Yes. A trained chauffeur meets guests at the arrivals gate. Corporate and monthly retainer clients can arrange recurring airport transfers through a dedicated account manager.
Can I rent a self-drive car in Guwahati with Palanquin?
Yes. Palanquin launched self-drive car rental in 2026 with a fleet of 24 vehicles across hatchbacks (including Hyundai Exter, i20, Venue), SUVs (including XUV700, Tata Safari, Mahindra Thar) and MUVs (Innova Crysta, Kia Carens). Self-drive is available for guests who prefer to drive themselves around Guwahati or on outstation trips.
Does Palanquin offer trips to Kaziranga, Shillong, Meghalaya, Tawang or Arunachal Pradesh?
Yes. Palanquin operates chauffeur-driven trips across all of Northeast India, including Kaziranga National Park, Shillong and Meghalaya (including Cherrapunji and Dawki), Majuli Island, Tawang and Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland. Drivers are locally based and experienced on mountain and remote routes.
Does Palanquin provide corporate or monthly car hire?
Yes. The company also runs full Employee Transportation System (ETS) contracts for corporate clients, including round-the-clock, multi-shift transport for manufacturing and FMCG plants. All corporate trips are logged through the company's own Duty Management System with digital duty slips, live GPS tracking, and GST-compliant invoicing.
How do I book a car with Palanquin?
The fastest way to book is via WhatsApp at +91 60037 47123, a real team member responds, not a bot. Individual bookings are typically confirmed within 30 minutes. Corporate enquiries can be submitted through the Contact page, with proposals ready within 24 hours. Palanquin does not use automated phone systems or chatbots for customer communication.
Is Palanquin a reliable and safe car rental company for solo travellers?
Yes. Palanquin is rated 4.9 out of 5 stars on Google across more than 225 verified reviews, with several reviews specifically noting safety and comfort for solo and women travellers. All drivers are background-verified and trained on a written Standard Operating Procedure. Every trip is tracked live through the company's Duty Management System.
Where is Palanquin located and when was it founded?
Palanquin Ecotales Private Limited was founded in July 2022 in Guwahati, Assam, by Queen Bhardwaj. The company's registered office is in Jayanagar, Guwahati, Assam 781022. It is a women-led company and is registered with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and incubated under StartUp Assam.
What vehicles are available in Palanquin' fleet?
Palanquin operates more than 100 vehicles across Northeast India, including Maruti Swift Dzire (sedan), Toyota Innova Crysta (MUV, 7-seater), Kia Carens (SUV, 6–7 seater), Force Urbania (13 and 17-seater vans), and Force Traveller (26-seater). The fleet covers everything from solo airport transfers to large group and corporate movements.
Tell us where you’re going
Send your dates and route on WhatsApp. A person replies within 30 minutes.