Worried about Ola, Uber drivers not accepting your ride requests or cancelling it after enquiring about the destination? Here’s an indigenous app-based platform, Yaary, that promises to make the cab drivers the owners of the service and get the full payment, without having to share a substantial portion of the fares with them.
Launched on the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), the new platform has launched the services in Hyderabad. “The drivers will only pay for using the platform on a software-as-a-service basis. Since it’s offered on the ONDC, it will help us offer multi-modal services, allowing the consumers to book autos, cabs, and metro tickets,” Hari Prasadh, CEO and Co-Founder of Yaary, said.
The start-up will charge ₹25 a day from the drivers who undertake more than five rides a day. Hari Prasadh claims that since the drivers need not pay any commission to the platform, they don’t want to cancel the rides, increasing the chances of getting a confirmed ride for customers.
On the pricing part, he said the customers will pay the prices as per the tariff decided by the local governments. Yaary has so far onboarded 12,000 autos and cabs in Hyderabad. “We are planning to expand the services to four more cities in the next three months,” he said.
“We are planning to expand the services to four more cities in the next three months. We are also onboarding Hyderabad Metro to the platform,” he said.
Driver partners in control
Hari Prasadh said the drivers need not pay hefty commissions to the platform as they presently do. Since they get the full amount that is promised on the app, the chances of ride cancellations would drastically come down.
Hyderabad Auto & Taxi Drivers Association and a couple of other associations have extended support to the service.
“This unique platform prioritises the empowerment of auto and taxi drivers by providing them complete control of their business, while operating with zero commission,” he said.
The company said it was about to offer no-frills services without taking any commission as it was working on a lean model. The startup is targeting to rope in one lakh drivers and serve 20 lakh customers in the next six months.
The start-up said it would provide drivers with flexible work schedules, a responsive support system, driver and family insurance, and legal consulting support. For customers, it said it would offer a reliable, multi-modal mobility service at affordable prices.
Koshy T, MD and CEO of ONDC, said the network would help drive mobility growth across the nation.
“Adopting a protocol like ONDC, various players can provide mobility services to customers, creating an increased demand potential. ONDC will amplify this reach, particularly in collaboration with public transportation services like Metros and buses,” Sujith Nair, CEO, Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy, said.