THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s a sunny afternoon. You get on the bus and sit in your seat only to find the sun directly shining on your face.
Frustrating, isn’t it? After all, it’s not the kind of sunlight that makes you want to lean back, and soak in the scenery. Rather, it makes you count the minutes until your journey ends. But, there is a solution, a mobile app.
Veyil, developed by a group of tech-savvy friends — Hadi Rasheed from Kozhikode, Sreelal T S from Vadakara and Hudaifa Abdul Nasar from Kannur — has found popularity not just in Kerala, but across the globe.
The trio came up with the idea in 2019 after realising the discomfort caused by sunlight during one’s daily commutes. They combined their love for technology and the desire to solve practical problems. To use it, commuters have to enter four details: Starting point, destination, time of travel, and day of the trip.
The app uses GPS and a finely-tuned 100mX100m grid to calculate sunlight angles along the route, determines which side of the bus will remain in shade and offers clear instructions: Left or right on where to sit for a comfortable ride.
“People should instantly understand what it does. That’s why we kept everything: tagline, interface, and the logo minimal and clear,” says Hudaifa. Veyil is available as both an app and website. First launched as a website on May 15, 2024, it gained attention. Its iOS version debuted in late September, followed by the Android version in early October.
In just two months, the app and website have together recorded 16,149 trips, with 2,500 daily users finding their preferred seats. It has been downloaded over 1,100 times on Apple devices and 3,600 times on Android devices.
“During development, we made sure to keep it simple. We avoided ads and other interruptions so that users can focus solely on their comfort. Though this delayed our launch, it was worth it,” says Hudaifa.
Meanwhile, Veyil has also caught the fancy of users across the globe too. “We’ve seen app usage spike in locations outside India, including Europe, the US and Australia,” says Hudaifa.