Bangladeshi start-ups to roll out ride-hailing auto-rickshaw apps

CNG auto-rickshaws in Bangladesh are being driven into the digital age in a bid to reverse their flagging fortunes.

Obaidur Masum Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 Nov 2017, 02:33 AM
Updated : 22 Nov 2017, 02:33 AM

They are struggling to compete in a market dominated by ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Pathao.

Drivers of the three-wheelers are criticised for charging an exorbitant fare and being reluctant to take riders to their destinations. They recently called for a strike over an eight-point charter of demand, including the closure of the ride-hailing apps.

Hello CNG, an app which is expected to be available on the Play Store from the next month, will allow commuters to hail auto-rickshaws.

Another app, Share a Motorcycle or SAM, already keeps the auto-rickshaw option for the commuters to choose.

Sakhawat Hossain Dulal, the member secretary of the Dhaka unit of CNG Auto-rickshaw Workers’ Unity Council, feels upbeat about the initiatives by the start-ups.

“In six months, there will be no more auto-rickshaws on the Dhaka streets if the illegal (ride-hailing companies) keep doing business. Both the drivers and owners (of auto-rickshaws) will go out of business,” he said. “So we are interested to get in the apps.”

If the apps are rolled out, changes would be made in the rates of money paid to owners, he noted.

A representative of the project, Hello CNG, ASM Jamal, said: “We hope to place the app on Google Play Store by the end of December.”

Discussions with the leaders of auto-rickshaw workers unity council and surveys on drivers had been done, he said on Monday.

“With the launch of ride-sharing services, auto-rickshaws are losing passengers,” Jamal said.

“They wait for hours and end up with insufficient daily earnings. They cannot submit dues to the owners and count losses. Our app aims to help them survive.”

However, a ride with Hello CNG may be a little costlier than the government rates, he added.

Charge for first two kilometres will remain the same at Tk 40. But Tk 13 will be charged every kilometre instead of Tk 12. So, commuters will have to spend Tk 20 to30 more on each ride.

“We have to charge a little extra. Commuters will book the rides sitting at their home. Their time will be saved,” Jamal told bdnews24.com.

CNG auto-rickshaw drivers are yet to be accustomed to using smartphones and thus are being trained, he said.

“Many of them do not have any smartphones. So we are training them. Already we have involved 150 drivers in the loop.”

Imtiaz Kashem, Managing Director of Datavoxel Ltd that has brought SAM, said they initially included auto-rickshaws and consulted the drivers.

The firm had to drop the option as auto-rickshaws were not mentioned in ‘the policy’ and it was not possible to find the owners for consultations, he said. 

Some riders are viewing the move to include the auto-rickshaws in the apps positively.

“We can get private cars on Uber but that is too expensive. CNG auto-rickshaws on apps will be helpful for the middle-class,” said Habiba Akter, a resident of Kanthhal Bagan in Dhaka.

The auto-rickshaw apps will reduce hassles of commuters, believes Zakaria Hossain Khan, a banker who lives at Shantinagar.

Auto-rickshaw owners, however, are reluctant to get involved in the mobile app service.

“We have our policies which won’t match the ones of the ride-sharing apps,” said Barkat Ullah Bulu, President of Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners Association.

“Our rates and their rates won’t match. So, we are not thinking about it right now. Let’s see what happens in future,” he told bdnews24.com.

BRTA Chairman Md Moshiar Rahman said the drivers will not be able to charge beyond the government rate even if they are available on mobile apps.

“There’s no chance for the app regulators to charge higher than the government rate,” said the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority boss.

There is nothing on auto-rickshaws in the ride-sharing policies. The BRTA would mull over it in case an organisation comes up with the application, he added.

“We do not have the authority. We will look into the matter in case the secretary asks us to do so.”

Roads and Highways Secretary Md Nazrul Islam said: “We will send the ride-sharing guidelines to the Cabinet. It has no mention of three-wheelers. If the government feels that it needs to be included, we will do it.”