Amid the continued tussle between the transport division and taxi aggregators, an autorickshaw union in Bengaluru on Tuesday launched a brand new ride-hailing cellular app known as ‘Namma Yatri’ that connects clients on to auto drivers with out an middleman.
The event comes after Uber India stated that it was contemplating limiting the auto providers in some elements of Bengaluru as a result of Karnataka excessive court docket’s resolution to cap commissions at 10%. The Namma Yatri app goals to faucet into the market with inexpensive fares for purchasers by eradicating the middlemen, stated an individual within the know of the event.
Normal secretary of Auto Rickshaw Drivers’ Union of Bengaluru TM Rudramurthy stated: “Namma Yatri will probably be a substitute for the opposite aggregator apps that have been in the course of an issue for fleecing clients”.
“Many automobile drivers are already quitting Uber, Ola and becoming a member of our app to get rid of the middlemen and earn extra fee. Uber’s resolution to limit providers will certainly profit us,” he stated.
Cab aggregators Ola, Uber and Rapido have come underneath authorities scanner for charging upwards of ₹100 per journey, even for journeys shorter than 2 km.
Earlier, the transport division had pulled up the aggregators for providing auto rickshaw rides with out licence and issued a discover that autorickshaws ought to cost a minimal worth of ₹30 for the primary two kilometres and ₹15 for each subsequent kilometre.
Whereas the beta model of the Namma Yatri app was launched on October 20, the union formally launched it on the event of Kannada Rajyotsava on November 1.
“We don’t need any middlemen. We need to present a great service to the shoppers . We wish them to avail our providers with belief and that is how we are able to additionally profit from the initiative,” Rudramurthy stated.
The app has almost 16,000 registered autorickshaw drivers and 20,000 passengers have downloaded the app since its inception.
“In the course of the preliminary section, 100-150 bookings have been seen each day. On November 1, the app had round 500 bookings,” Rudramurthy stated.
The fares are primarily based on the value record fastened by the federal government. For every journey, there will probably be a reserving cost of ₹10. The drivers even have an choice of accelerating it as much as ₹30.
In contrast to the opposite apps, the shoppers have an choice to select from a number of drivers. Prospects will see a listing of drivers who’re keen to take the journey and may have the liberty to decide on among the many drivers primarily based on the bottom worth citation, arrival time and ranking on the app, Rudramurthy stated.
The funds will probably be in money after the completion of the journey and there will probably be no cancellation charges. The app additionally has metro feeders, to supply last-mile connectivity service to and from metro stations as much as 2 km distance at a flat fare of ₹40.
The app was developed with the assistance of fee gateway Juspay Applied sciences Pvt Ltd underneath the Union authorities’s Open Community for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
“Because the previous seven to eight years, corporations like Ola and Uber have been charging exorbitant charges to the shoppers. The federal government itself ought to have taken motion or give you an initiative like ours,” Rudramurthy stated.
“The middlemen are those inflicting issues. If it wasn’t for them, the drivers and the shoppers would have been pleased with the providers,” he added.
Rudramurthy stated that though Namma Yatri doesn’t have a license from the transport division like different cab aggregators, they don’t want a license since there isn’t a fee. “If the passengers present any additional free, all the quantity goes to the drivers. We aren’t aggregators. The transport authorities additionally stated that we are able to’t avail any license and if there may be any grievance from the passengers, they’d look into it,” he stated.