Recently I came across the news of two IIT ians making a journey from technology to transport. The two persons, Mukesh Jha and Janardan Prasad who are the directors of a start up company in Pune, named their company as Ubida Solutions Private Limited. The name has got a meaning in Sanskrit, Ubi is location and ida means intelligence. The effort of these two brought the facility to dial in an autorickshaw and it is being warmly welcomed by the consumers.
We all know that they are similar facilities available for taxi, cabs but it is a new idea of putting the more economical choice which consumers make everyday. We have seen that even it is very difficult to find an autorickshaw and if found, we are charged more than the actual amount. The plan of taking the autos to the consumers by just dialing is a novel thought from the two IIT ians and they were really worried whether the rickshaw drivers agree to be a part of such a network. They are more doubtful about the commercial success also. The report was good from the consumer’s side.
They actually started the venture by starting with a scientific research, they surveyed over hundred drivers and got all the details including their issues and worries. Moreover they had a consumer survey; more than three hundred consumers were interviewed to find out whether the services were available for them. The result of the consumer report showed that the vehicle drivers travelled empty almost twenty five percent of their time, while consumer spent a considerable time either looking for an autorickshaw or making the drivers to agree to a destination where they wanted to go. Finally the decision was made to put the plan into practice.
A consumer needs to call and book a ride at least an hour before. A system developed by the techies locates the autorickshaws in the particular location and identifies the available drivers. Then a text message will be forwarded to consumer with the details like the vehicle registration number, name of the driver, mobile number, pick up time, distance in kilometers and the approximate fare.
The approach has been put on a trial basis and they are planning to move this to a commercial operation. Now they are providing the service for free and later they are planning to charge a nominal fee for this. Their expansion plan includes hiring more autorickshaws, pitch the service to more drivers, and then integrate them into the network. They are planning to extend it to web and messaging service as well. This will really be helpful for senior citizens and physically challenged people because of its convenience. Moreover as the rate is fixed they cannot argue with consumer for getting more. It is better if the plan is promoted to other states also. These kinds of ventures should be encouraged as it will really help consumers a lot.
