THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Aiming to give tough competition to Ola and Uber services in the state, a new cab aggregator, PIU, developed by Kochi-based Mindmaster Technologies Pvt Ltd, will begin operations in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kannur, Kollam and Malappuram this month.
According to Ashok George Jacob, managing director, Mindmaster Technologies, the new ride-sharing app is cheaper than other companies.
“At present, the MNCs operating the cab services levy a hefty 26 per cent commission from the driver. But, PIU charges only 2.3 per cent which is much below what the MNCs charge now. PIU platform is a benefit for both drivers as well as users,” he told mediapersons on Thursday.
According to him, several cabs and autorickshaw drivers have started registering with the company as vendors.
“Within hours after we started the registration, around 200 drivers joined the app. Most of them are worried about the income they are getting from the other two companies. The driver has to pay Rs 780 to the service provider if he gets Rs 3,000 a day on an average. This will round up to Rs 2,34,000 a year. Besides, the driver has to spend on fuel, monthly EMI, maintenance and other expenses. In short, the driver’s take-home money is only 21 per cent of the total money he earns. Whereas for the PIU driver, it is 46 per cent,” Ashok added.
Meanwhile, the company officials also said the app is designed in such a way to benefit the riders.
“When a customer downloads and refers the app to five persons and prompts them to take one ride with PIU they will become a Golden Customer. With this they will be eligible to get the Ride Profit Share, provided the customer completes four rides himself every month,” he said.
The company officials also said the new initiative will help generate 800 direct employment opportunities within the first six months of operation.
“As of now, most of the cabs and autos are in the unorganised sector. By enrolling under PIU, all financial transactions related to a taxi would be accounted thereby increasing the GST revenue of the state,” he said.
