The new service is the brain child of IIMA alumnus and CEO of Nirmal group, Nirmal Kumar.
Remember the last time when you had to desperately hunt for an auto in the dead of the night? Well, such inconveniences are soon going to be a thing of the past.
For, very soon, autorickshaws will be just a phone call away, similar to the 24/7 pharmacy and ambulance services. And for the new convenience, you need to thank a former student of IIMA, who along with the AMC will jointly launch the service from February 26.
The new service is the brain child of IIMA alumnus and CEO of Nirmal group, Nirmal Kumar. "The idea is to organise the auto-rickshaws in the city in such a way that both the people as well as the drivers gain from the initiative," said Kumar.
"The facility will be of great help to the people and each driver can earn Rs200 to Rs300 per day due to increase in number of passengers," he said. Supported by the government of Gujarat, the new service is called Any Time Rickshaw (ATR) service. It will create a centralised system of autorickshaws where customers can call and book an auto anytime.
For the service, the passengers will have to pay just Rs10 more than the meter reading.
However, if the booking is done for an auto that is needed in less than an hour the passenger will have to pay as much as Rs15 in addition to the auto fare.
If a booking is cancelled, the customer will have to pay Rs30 for every auto booked.
Talking about the trials that he has been conducting for the service, Kumar said, "I have been training auto drivers to speak in English. They have also been taught to be polite with customers, particularly elderly people, women, children and tourists."
"Of these trainees, I have selected around 30 drivers who have shown commitment. The service has been activated on a trial basis around the areas near IIMA, NID, CEPT and few popular hotels. The people whom I had told about the service have used the service and are satisfied with it," said Kumar.
Talking about his target, Kumar said that once the service is formally launched and the demand is ascertained, the number of autos covered under the service could be increased to 100.
"Adding more rickshaws is not a problem as I already have around 1500 autos in the loop." Kumar said that he had been toying with the idea for a long time and it was only recently that he came up with an innovative way to implement it. "So I decided to start the service this year itself as a gift to the people of the city on its 600th birthday," said Kumar.
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