Tamil Nadu: Auto driver innovates moving petty shop to earn extra income amid COVID-19 crisis

This autorickshaw in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore is not only a means of transport but also doubles up as a petty shop on wheels. When not ferrying passengers, the rear cover of the parked vehicle is removed and one can buy bottled water, snacks, biscuits, cigarettes and other tobacco products, just as in a petty store. 

Abdul Samad has been riding his autorickshaw for over eight years, but the lockdown dealt a severe blow to his daily income. Prior to the lockdown, he had been wanting to set up a petty shop to earn some extra income during the evening hours, but that didn’t happen. However, adversity bred innovation. 

Samad invested around Rs 7,000 and set up a store at the rear of his auto and began selling these small items since the start of the lockdown and it helped him earn a little income. Now that autos are permitted to ply, he continues to sell the goods, while also ferrying customers. He drives the auto during the day and sells when he is waiting in the auto stand. 

As he had wished for earlier, now he has a petty shop that would earn him extra income during the evening hours, which he usually spends at home.

He says that the shop at the rear of his auto is a source of extra income as he is able to make a daily profit of Rs 200-250 against the sales of products worth Rs 1,000. The additional income is higher during the weekends when he gets to sell goods worth over Rs 2,000.

Abdul says that his regular customers and passengers too haven’t had an issue with the petty shop being set up, as the seating remains unaffected.