7 ms·

Text and Ride in India

114 points by keerthiko 12y ago

asheinfeld 12y ago
Another of those, how i didn't think about this moments!
shankysingh 12y ago
"Olacabs": Cabs service in India, also faced similar deterioration of service after rapid expansion. Makes me wonder if startup-growth issue or public-transport culture problem. Because in my experience the heavily politicized transport trade unions in india, do cause lot of trouble for initiatives like these. src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Meru-threatens-to-shut-operations/articleshow/18053914.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Meru-threaten...
- keerthiko 12y ago
  A difference here is that rickshaws tend to be independently operated, somewhat differently from the incumbent taxi services worldwide that have dispatch agencies, who are directly hurt by Uber-likes routing traffic directly to the drivers rather than through the agencies. Here, originally the only operands were customer and driver, and now Autowale, while increasing the number of operations happening, making pretty much everyone happier. Of course, there are a few rickshaw agencies, or bigwigs with subordinate drivers, who play the role of the taxi agency, and probably get angered by this, but I don't think they're unified/large enough to pose a notable threat. So I would foresee startup-growth/business-model issues being the more relevant causes for a shutdown of Autowale, contrary to with car/taxi startups.
- kamaal 12y ago
  >>public-transport culture problem That's just one thing. Operating a fleet of vehicles comes with its own head aches. Start with deprecating assets, poorly maintained vehicles, and thin profit margins. Doing this on scale gets very difficult. Plus from everything I've heard. Getting parking slots, permission, permits etc requires paying out heavy bribes[Which you can't legally account for] etc etc. Together all of this really makes it difficult to run this business on scale.
- anandish 12y ago
  Shanky, not the kind of experience you'd have known Ola for. There could have been some cases of a few inconsistent experience coming your way (surely a function of scale), but that is minimized to a very large extent with aggressive sourcing of feedback, audits and quality checks. As such, Ola doesn't face such issues since it's focus is towards creating micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for drivers (who own their cars) and work with Ola purely on a commission basis, but in adherence to strict quality measures. On a side note. if you have had a bad experience(s), do share up your CRN on feedback@olacabs.com. The team is generally quick to resolve.
  - shankysingh 12y ago
    Hey Anandish, Thanks man will do :)
louhike 12y ago
I really like this idea. It will be reallu useful for strangers (as I was as an intern last summer) as autorickshaws tend to refuse to put the meter so they can make you pay more.
goatcurious 12y ago
I think Autowale predates Uber (or runs close), guess someone edited the title appropriately
TheBiv 12y ago
Great to see successful products that aren't solely smartphone based. Minor question, can someone please explain to me what his long pinky finger nail indicates? The only thing I have ever heard is that a long pinky nail indicates someone who cuts cocaine, and hopefully I am missing something. http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/07/26/business/26rickshaw-web3/26rickshaw-web3-articleLarge.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/07/26/business/26ricksha...
- mike_esspe 12y ago
  It's a signal, that they are not doing manual labor.
  - TheBiv 12y ago
    Fascinating! I am glad that I was missing something! Thank you very much for the background!
- existencebox 12y ago
  Sign of wealth/prestige in some places, means you don't do hard labor with your hands. (Someone please correct me if there's a more subtle meaning.)
- breitling 12y ago
  It could just be a fashion statement as well
ad93611 12y ago
In Bangalore, rickshaw fares have been going up, while cab fares have been going down in the past few years. Currently, it costs Rs.13 per KM for a rickshaw[1] and it costs exactly the same, Rs.13 per KM, for a small cab[2] during the day in Bangalore. During the night, rickshaw is 50% more expensive than using a cab. A cab is clearly a more comfortable ride than a rickshaw. I don't see how the rickshaw business will continue to operate and grow under these conditions. Cab services have been growing steadily though. [1] - http://www.taxiautofare.com/taxi-fare-card/Bengaluru-Auto-fare http://www.taxiautofare.com/taxi-fare-card/Bengaluru-Auto-fa... [2] - http://www.olacabs.com/fares/bangalore http://www.olacabs.com/fares/bangalore
- rahimnathwani 12y ago
  Are taxis as fast as rickshaws, even in heavy traffic?
  - datacog 12y ago
    3 wheels and a handle (instead of steering) gives them a serious advantage. Unrelated: Any non-Indian visiting India should definitely try a Rickshaw ride once, you'll feel scary good experience.
- kanwisher 12y ago
  I know in Bangkok, its a lot of tourists that ride the Tuk Tuks, maybe its the same thing in rickshaws?
  - rikacomet 12y ago
    almost, but the driver mentality is different, due to difference in traffic structures. The Tuk Tuk is on the peppy side of things. The Autorickshaw[different from just 'Rickshaw'] is more enclosed, personal ride most of the time.
- kamaal 12y ago
  My father is a cab driver and your Math is way off course. In order to break even, Cab drivers and most travel agencies offering cab services use a mix of fare systems. If you are hiring a cab for a day, the cab fares are mixture of 'time' and 'distance'. For example, there is a minimum half day charge for 4 hours or 40 kilometer, or multiples of that plus any additional billing for extra kilometers driven. Tourist cabs are charged separately. Autos are far far cheaper than any cab you can hire. But the margin of profit in Autos is way less, so the general quality suffers. The reason your Meru's, Ola's or even Uber can offer cabs for so cheap is they raise enough money to operate on losses. Bankruptcy is pretty common in this business. Every time I talk to my father about a new cheap travel scheme, he only asks me to wait for their imminent demise. We've been in this business for quite some while to understand how this stuff works. If you wish to understand how sustainable cab business work, have a talk with the office cab drivers. You will get a peek into the life of people who sleep for barely 5 hrs/day and drive 300Km/day to make a living on 12000 rupees a month. All while charging a good deal to travel agencies. Autos are going to make a killing. If you are thinking you are going to invest your way in to this market, then you are going to be in for a surprise. There is a saying in my native tongue(urdu): "If you wish to destroy a person's life, get him to start a travel business'.
taxiguy 12y ago
We recently (2 months) launched a text based dispatch service in Nairobi http://www.sasacabs.com http://www.sasacabs.com
Garbage 12y ago
I met Mukesh Jha, one of the founders, couple of months back in a conference. It was amazing listening to his story of Autowale.in. His passion about this was apparent.
vijayboyapati 12y ago
I really love the testimonials :) http://autowale.in/ http://autowale.in/
r_singh 12y ago
This is such a great thing to do. Thank god they persevered through the trough of sorrow.
ylem 12y ago
I was in Mumbai a few years ago to give a workshop. The fares to get too and from my hotel would vary greatly and some of the participants strongly suggested that I use tabcab (http://www.tabcab.in/index.html http://www.tabcab.in/index.html). It was a bit pricier, but very reliable. I wonder how this service compares...In some US cities like Denver, I've tried Taxi Magic, which has been hit or miss.
selasdia 12y ago
I can't wait for the launch of the service in Bangalore. You can usually get ricks anywhere you want during the day, but it's harder to get long-distance rides from North Bangalore to South Bangalore in the late evenings. I think these services can connect passengers up with auto-drivers returning to their homes in the evening across the city and solve an interesting matching problem.
breitling 12y ago
Unless this service grows the auto rickshaw market (meaning, someone who wasn't likely to use an auto rickshaw is now using one, thanks to this service), then this person's gain is another rickshaw driver's loss. This seems unfair to me. Rickshaw drivers are typically uneducated and it's plausible that some of them don't realize this Uber-like service exists and are losing money because of it. Anyway, my point is, I really, really hope this is growing the market otherwise we are just taking money away from one driver and handing it to another (in theory).

114 points by keerthiko 12y ago

Another of those, how i didn't think about this moments!

"Olacabs": Cabs service in India, also faced similar deterioration of service after rapid expansion. Makes me wonder if startup-growth issue or public-transport culture problem. Because in my experience the heavily politicized transport trade unions in india, do cause lot of trouble for initiatives like these. src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Meru-threatens-to-shut-operations/articleshow/18053914.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Meru-threaten...

keerthiko 12y ago
A difference here is that rickshaws tend to be independently operated, somewhat differently from the incumbent taxi services worldwide that have dispatch agencies, who are directly hurt by Uber-likes routing traffic directly to the drivers rather than through the agencies. Here, originally the only operands were customer and driver, and now Autowale, while increasing the number of operations happening, making pretty much everyone happier. Of course, there are a few rickshaw agencies, or bigwigs with subordinate drivers, who play the role of the taxi agency, and probably get angered by this, but I don't think they're unified/large enough to pose a notable threat. So I would foresee startup-growth/business-model issues being the more relevant causes for a shutdown of Autowale, contrary to with car/taxi startups.
kamaal 12y ago
>>public-transport culture problem That's just one thing. Operating a fleet of vehicles comes with its own head aches. Start with deprecating assets, poorly maintained vehicles, and thin profit margins. Doing this on scale gets very difficult. Plus from everything I've heard. Getting parking slots, permission, permits etc requires paying out heavy bribes[Which you can't legally account for] etc etc. Together all of this really makes it difficult to run this business on scale.
anandish 12y ago
Shanky, not the kind of experience you'd have known Ola for. There could have been some cases of a few inconsistent experience coming your way (surely a function of scale), but that is minimized to a very large extent with aggressive sourcing of feedback, audits and quality checks. As such, Ola doesn't face such issues since it's focus is towards creating micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for drivers (who own their cars) and work with Ola purely on a commission basis, but in adherence to strict quality measures. On a side note. if you have had a bad experience(s), do share up your CRN on feedback@olacabs.com. The team is generally quick to resolve.
- shankysingh 12y ago
  Hey Anandish, Thanks man will do :)

louhike 12y ago

I really like this idea. It will be reallu useful for strangers (as I was as an intern last summer) as autorickshaws tend to refuse to put the meter so they can make you pay more.

goatcurious 12y ago

I think Autowale predates Uber (or runs close), guess someone edited the title appropriately

TheBiv 12y ago

Great to see successful products that aren't solely smartphone based. Minor question, can someone please explain to me what his long pinky finger nail indicates? The only thing I have ever heard is that a long pinky nail indicates someone who cuts cocaine, and hopefully I am missing something. http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/07/26/business/26rickshaw-web3/26rickshaw-web3-articleLarge.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/07/26/business/26ricksha...

mike_esspe 12y ago
It's a signal, that they are not doing manual labor.
- TheBiv 12y ago
  Fascinating! I am glad that I was missing something! Thank you very much for the background!
existencebox 12y ago
Sign of wealth/prestige in some places, means you don't do hard labor with your hands. (Someone please correct me if there's a more subtle meaning.)
breitling 12y ago
It could just be a fashion statement as well

ad93611 12y ago

In Bangalore, rickshaw fares have been going up, while cab fares have been going down in the past few years. Currently, it costs Rs.13 per KM for a rickshaw[1] and it costs exactly the same, Rs.13 per KM, for a small cab[2] during the day in Bangalore. During the night, rickshaw is 50% more expensive than using a cab. A cab is clearly a more comfortable ride than a rickshaw. I don't see how the rickshaw business will continue to operate and grow under these conditions. Cab services have been growing steadily though. [1] - http://www.taxiautofare.com/taxi-fare-card/Bengaluru-Auto-fare http://www.taxiautofare.com/taxi-fare-card/Bengaluru-Auto-fa... [2] - http://www.olacabs.com/fares/bangalore http://www.olacabs.com/fares/bangalore

rahimnathwani 12y ago
Are taxis as fast as rickshaws, even in heavy traffic?
- datacog 12y ago
  3 wheels and a handle (instead of steering) gives them a serious advantage. Unrelated: Any non-Indian visiting India should definitely try a Rickshaw ride once, you'll feel scary good experience.
kanwisher 12y ago
I know in Bangkok, its a lot of tourists that ride the Tuk Tuks, maybe its the same thing in rickshaws?
- rikacomet 12y ago
  almost, but the driver mentality is different, due to difference in traffic structures. The Tuk Tuk is on the peppy side of things. The Autorickshaw[different from just 'Rickshaw'] is more enclosed, personal ride most of the time.
kamaal 12y ago
My father is a cab driver and your Math is way off course. In order to break even, Cab drivers and most travel agencies offering cab services use a mix of fare systems. If you are hiring a cab for a day, the cab fares are mixture of 'time' and 'distance'. For example, there is a minimum half day charge for 4 hours or 40 kilometer, or multiples of that plus any additional billing for extra kilometers driven. Tourist cabs are charged separately. Autos are far far cheaper than any cab you can hire. But the margin of profit in Autos is way less, so the general quality suffers. The reason your Meru's, Ola's or even Uber can offer cabs for so cheap is they raise enough money to operate on losses. Bankruptcy is pretty common in this business. Every time I talk to my father about a new cheap travel scheme, he only asks me to wait for their imminent demise. We've been in this business for quite some while to understand how this stuff works. If you wish to understand how sustainable cab business work, have a talk with the office cab drivers. You will get a peek into the life of people who sleep for barely 5 hrs/day and drive 300Km/day to make a living on 12000 rupees a month. All while charging a good deal to travel agencies. Autos are going to make a killing. If you are thinking you are going to invest your way in to this market, then you are going to be in for a surprise. There is a saying in my native tongue(urdu): "If you wish to destroy a person's life, get him to start a travel business'.

taxiguy 12y ago

We recently (2 months) launched a text based dispatch service in Nairobi http://www.sasacabs.com http://www.sasacabs.com

Garbage 12y ago

I met Mukesh Jha, one of the founders, couple of months back in a conference. It was amazing listening to his story of Autowale.in. His passion about this was apparent.

vijayboyapati 12y ago

I really love the testimonials :) http://autowale.in/ http://autowale.in/

r_singh 12y ago

This is such a great thing to do. Thank god they persevered through the trough of sorrow.

ylem 12y ago

I was in Mumbai a few years ago to give a workshop. The fares to get too and from my hotel would vary greatly and some of the participants strongly suggested that I use tabcab (http://www.tabcab.in/index.html http://www.tabcab.in/index.html). It was a bit pricier, but very reliable. I wonder how this service compares...In some US cities like Denver, I've tried Taxi Magic, which has been hit or miss.

selasdia 12y ago

I can't wait for the launch of the service in Bangalore. You can usually get ricks anywhere you want during the day, but it's harder to get long-distance rides from North Bangalore to South Bangalore in the late evenings. I think these services can connect passengers up with auto-drivers returning to their homes in the evening across the city and solve an interesting matching problem.

breitling 12y ago

Unless this service grows the auto rickshaw market (meaning, someone who wasn't likely to use an auto rickshaw is now using one, thanks to this service), then this person's gain is another rickshaw driver's loss. This seems unfair to me. Rickshaw drivers are typically uneducated and it's plausible that some of them don't realize this Uber-like service exists and are losing money because of it. Anyway, my point is, I really, really hope this is growing the market otherwise we are just taking money away from one driver and handing it to another (in theory).