THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Savaari, the first-of-its-kind online auto/taxi service launched by the state government, struggles to stay afloat amidst cut-throat competition from Rapido, Uber, Ola, and Tukxi. Since its launch, Kerala Savaari conducted around 600 rides, and the number of cancellations due to the unavailability of riders are more than 10,000.
The app has been developed after spending Rs 30 crore by the IIT-Palakkad and is being implemented jointly by the Motor Workers Welfare Board and the labour department. So far, around 660 autorickshaws and taxi drivers have enrolled under the platform, which has over 11,000 subscribers.
The state government has fixed the service charge at 8%. As per the understanding, 6% of the service charge would go to IIT-Palakkad and the remaining 2% to the government and schemes for the drivers. However, rickshaw drivers are not very keen on joining the platform.
“If a ride gets cancelled, the drivers are being charged Rs 5 as a fine. I had to spend Rs 900 to get enrolled in the platform and another Rs 700 to get the police clearance certificate. Long-distance rides are not financially viable for us compared to other online auto-taxi services,” said Anand S, executive member of Online Coordination Help, a union of online auto drivers.