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Dial-a-rickshaw gets good response from Puneites

The AutoWale dial-a-rickshaw service launched in the city by two alumni of IIT-Kanpur in July has emerged a viable win-win model benefiting both consumers and autorickshaw drivers.

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The AutoWale dial-a-rickshaw service launched in the city by two alumni of IIT-Kanpur in July has emerged a viable win-win model benefiting both consumers and autorickshaw drivers.

IITians Janardan Prasad and Mukesh Jha decided to find a way to make autorickshaws more commuter-friendly in the city and in July they launched the round-the-clock paid dial-a-rickshaw service named AutoWale.

“Autorickshaws are the backbone of public transportation in the city, but they are highly unorganised. We started the dial-a-rickshaw service to offer a better experience to customers and help drivers make a profit. It’s a win-win situation,” said Janardan Prasad, chief operating officer and co-founder of AutoWale.

A DNA reporter decided to try out the service and called up their customer care number to hire an autorickshaw from Model Colony to Ghorpadi at 8.30 pm. The reporter immediately received an SMS from AutoWale stating the name of the driver, his cellphone number, autorickshaw number and the pick-up time.

By meter, the fare was Rs93. After adding the convenience fee, the amount came to Rs105. The experience was a completely hassle-free one.

The IIT duo ran the dial-a-rickshaw pilot project for seven months last year to see if such a business model would work. After three months of revising and re-planning, they launched the service officially this year.

With a fleet of 50 autorickshaws AutoWale has chosen rickshaws across regions under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). To ensure safety and convenience of commuters, they have installed GPRS tracking devices in the vehicles to know where they are at all times.

“The autorickshaw drivers selected to work with us go through an interview process. We particularly look for drivers who are well mannered and are educated,” Prasad explained.

AutoWale provides each driver a regular monthly salary which includes money for CNG and maintenance of the autorickshaws. On weekends, the service receives 300 to 400 calls per day. On weekdays there are fewer calls as there are recurring customers who travel regularly to their offices and schools.

“It’s a job of responsibility and cannot be done by lazy drivers. I think if this initiative expands, people of Pune will benefit tremendously and the autorickshaw problem will be solved,” said Sunil Mandlik, a driver recruited by AutoWale.

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