From Thursday, you can book an auto on the city’s first dial-a-rickshaw service on 022-25747474, which will provide an online 24x7 booking system for just Rs20 extra.
There is now an answer to autorickshaw drivers who refuse short-distance fares, their faulty metres and flash strikes, it’s rickshawale.com.
From Thursday, you can book an auto on the city’s first dial-a-rickshaw service on 022-25747474, which will provide an online 24x7 booking system for just Rs20 extra.
The three founders specify that besides being a consumer-driven concept, rickshawale.com is about the auto drivers. “No one ever looks at the other side of the story,” said Hemant Jain, one of the founders of the service, on Wednesday.
As news of the service has gone viral on social networking sites since Tuesday, the six employees at the office have their hands full taking down bookings for Thursday. Around 300 auto drivers have been selected from the 500 applications after screening documents, checking family backgrounds and driving skills.
Kailash Londhe was among the first to sign up at Mankhurd station. “This is just added income,” he said proudly displaying his identity card. “Now, we are guaranteed that we will have customers through the day.”
The service is, as one of the founders says, a “stripped down version of the Meru cab service”. You dial 25747474 and specify your travel details, which is then fed on the site. This is linked with an interface on Google maps which throws up the nearest landmarks.
Rickshawale has identified 3,000 locations. The nearest drivers in the area are informed via SMS and the first driver to respond — fastest finger-style — is given a confirmation email with the passenger’s phone number, address and travel details. Once the confirmation is set, the commuter is given details of the auto driver, his telephone number and licence plate number. You have transport at your doorstep for just Rs20 more than the regular fare. This service charge is irrespective of the distance travelled.
“We are looking at passengers who want this service in real time, though we are open to bookings a day in advance,” said Gaurav Kohli, another founder. Commuters can also call and complain about a driver on this number.
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