A small, homegrown startup that's only three years old is shaking up how ride-hailing works in India!

Meet Namma Yatri, an app that started in 2022 to help auto-rickshaw drivers. Instead of taking a commission from each ride like big companies, Namma Yatri came up with a different idea: drivers pay a small fee to use the app and get to keep all the money they make from passengers. 💰

This simple change has been a big hit! Namma Yatri is now used in over 15 Indian cities and helps drivers complete nearly 190,000 rides every single day. According to their website, it has helped 638,000 drivers earn over $175 million since it started. 🎉

Big Companies Had to Change Too!

The success of Namma Yatri has made the bigger ride-hailing companies like Ola, Rapido, and even Uber rethink how they do things. They've now started offering subscription options for drivers too, so they don't have to pay a commission on every single ride. Even the Indian government is thinking about creating its ride-hailing app that sends profits directly to drivers! 🇮🇳

Sarayu Natarajan, from the Aapti Institute, says that "Namma Yatri has been quite central to this shift happening all across the ride-hailing industry in India.

Saurav Kumar Chachan, from Redseer, believes that even though Namma Yatri is smaller, it has changed the direction of the market. He says drivers saw it as a better way to earn, and other platforms had to follow.

How Did Namma Yatri Do It?

Namma Yatri was created through a partnership between a payments startup called Juspay, a non-profit called FIDE, and a local auto-rickshaw drivers' union (ARDU) in Bengaluru.

To understand the problems drivers faced, even the bosses at Juspay tried driving auto-rickshaws themselves! M.S. Shanmugavel, who was a Juspay executive and one of the founders of Namma Yatri, said that drivers were happy to share their ideas and promote the app because it fixed the issue of high commissions charged by apps like Uber and Ola. Rudramurthy, from the drivers' union, said, "We felt it was our app and customers also liked it and told others about it." ❤️

When Namma Yatri launched in November 2022, it was free for drivers, and thousands were already using it. The timing was perfect because the government in Karnataka (where Bengaluru is) was threatening to ban Uber, Ola, and Rapido for charging customers too much. 📢

In mid-2023, Namma Yatri started a subscription fee model where auto-rickshaw drivers pay a small daily fee (like 25 rupees, which is about 29 cents) for unlimited rides, or a tiny fee per ride for the first 10 trips. After that, it's free for the rest of the day! 💸

Namma Yatri also does something unique: it shares important information about drivers and rides publicly. It's the only ride-hailing app in India that does this! 📊

Later in 2023, Juspay made Namma Yatri its own separate company called Moving Tech Innovations. In 2024, this new company received $11 million in funding from big names like Google and other investment firms. 💰

Karthik Reddy, from Blume Ventures, said they liked how Namma Yatri was built to solve transportation problems on a large scale without needing a lot of money. Unlike its bigger competitors, Namma Yatri hasn't spent a lot on advertising or discounts.

Sarayu Natarajan also pointed out that Namma Yatri's model helps them save on taxes because they don't handle payments directly between customers and drivers.

It looks like this small Indian startup has found a way to make ride-hailing fairer for drivers, and it's forcing even the biggest companies to change how they do things! 👍

Key Numbers:

3 years old: How old is Namma Yatri?
2022: The year Namma Yatri launched.
Over 15: Number of Indian cities Namma Yatri is in.
Nearly 190,000: Number of rides facilitated by Namma Yatri daily.
638,000: Number of drivers who have used Namma Yatri.
Over $175 million: Total earnings for drivers through Namma Yatri.
25 rupees (29 cents): Daily subscription fee for unlimited rides in most states.
3.5 rupees (4 cents): Fee per ride for the first 10 trips in most states.
November 2022: Namma Yatri's launch month.
Mid-2023: When the subscription fee model was rolled out.
2024: The year Moving Tech Innovations raised $11 million in funding.

📰 Reported by FazTimes Media.

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