Auto driver unions launch two rideshare apps

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) on Tuesday officially launched its ‘Namma Yatri’ app to challenge multi-national ride-hailing giants such as Ola and Uber. The union claims that it has already gathered over 10,000 downloads for their app.

The aim of the move, they say, is to protect auto drivers from overcharging by the likes of Ola and Uber, who they claim take a large cut from the fare. However, the ‘Namma Yatri’ app has been functional for a few weeks now.

Meanwhile, another union Peace Auto is planning on floating a similar app named Rook, which would be officially launched on November 9, late Kannada actor Shankar Nag’s birth anniversary. They also claim over 10,000 downloads.

However, they plan on starting a test run in and around Bellandur on Wednesday. “Rook Auto will be available in and around Bellandur from tomorrow (Wednesday),” Rajgopal from Peace Auto said. He added that Rook would take “zero commission” and instead would charge Rs 23 per kilometre.

“We’ve been working on this and struggling in this regard for over three years. We could have done this earlier, but we wanted to gauge the challenges that the drivers face. After much analysis and work, we are launching it from Bellandur and are announcing this on Karnataka Rajyotsava Day,” Rajgopal said.

He added that Rook had set themselves the ambitious goal of giving the drivers Rs 125 after logging into the app for at least an hour, even if they weren’t able to book a single ride. Auto rickshaw drivers complained that aggregators like Uber and Ola took advantage of auto rickshaw drivers and claimed Rs 200-300 per day from them.