Amid upsurge of MNC-run auto apps, drivers launch own tool

Commuting in autorickshaws has become a lot easier in the City, with half a dozen apps being available to summon the autorickshaws at your doorstep. 

New age-apps are easily available on different app stores such as iOS and Google play. So, traditional autorickshaw drivers and their unions are trying to keep pace with the multinational company operators such Ola and Taxi For Sure, which also have autorickshaw services on their apps, beside taxis.

At a time when traditional autorickshaw drivers are succumbing to pressure and are associating themselves with MNC-run services, one drivers' association decided to take the matters into their own hands.

Savarimate is the latest autorickshaw app on the existing list. It promises to make the ride free of hitches. What makes it different is that it comes from traditional autorickshaw drivers union.

“The autorickshaw business has been going down ever since big players such as TaxiForSure, Ola launched their autorickshaw apps. There are 1.25 lakh autorickshaws which are legally running in the City. It’s a matter of survival with the help of new-age tools,” says Naveed Khan, president of Nava Karnataka Auto Drivers, the association which is behind the app. He said that the team of the Association decided to adopt the app developed by a USA-based software engineer.

“One of my friends has developed the application for us,” he informed. When asked as to how much the association spent on the same, he said that the expenses are yet to be calculated.

The app, which was launched on February 17, has already had about a hundred downloads and is still counting.

Contrary to regular autorickshaw apps run by MNCs which have the aggregator model and thus charge Rs 10 as convenience fee for booking an autorickshaw through them, Savarimate only charges the fare by meter.

Says Khan, “We do not charge any convenience fee and give the same service with additional features and only charge what has been approved by the Transport department.” The app features Auto Map for users to easily locate nearby autos.