'Autorickshaw permit limits would be increased to cover the expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area'

CHENNAI: Transport and Road Safety Commissioner A Shanmuga Sundaram on Monday said that soon orders would be issued to extend auto rickshaw permits to cover the expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area.

"We had issued permits to autorickshaws to ply within the existing CMA limits. Now the CMDA has increased the CMA limits covering the entire Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and up to Arakonnam in the Ranipet district. We will in a couple of days issue a notification to extend the permits for autorickshaws plying within the expanded CMA limits, " he said while launching the Namma Yatri Auto app in the city.

He said that the proposed revised fares for the auto-rickshaw recommended by the Transport Commissionerate are under the consideration of the state government.

"Until the revised fares are announced, the auto rickshaws would ply based on the fares fixed in 2013," he said.

Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA special officer I Jeyakumar said that he was taking part in the launch of a private company's ride-hailing app as it is based on open source and a "make in India" initiative. "The app offers benefits to all the stakeholders - passengers, drivers and platform providers, " he said, adding that CUMTA would be inviting a tender for developing an app for an integrated ticketing system through a QR code.

He said that the Namma Yatri app which is based on ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) could also be integrated into the ticketing app to provide first-mile and last-mile connectivities to passengers.

Namma Yatri, an auto ride-booking app, based on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) launched in the city on Monday.

Namma Yatri, which already running in Bengaluru, functions based on a zero-commission model that will allow drivers to take home higher earnings.

Vimal Kumar, CEO of Juspay Technologies, the app developer, said that Namma Yatri has added 12,000 drivers in a week and 8000 drivers are available to take rides. He said that they are planning to add one lakh more drivers in the next six months. "We are also planning to introduce priority rides to passengers booking for a trip to hospitals. We want the drivers to pick them up immediately, " he said.

The new auto ride booking app would not charge any commission from the drivers. Instead, it will charge a nominal platform fee of Rs 3.5 per ride or Rs 25 per day after their first trip. The app would not provide any discounts or incentives and would function as a bridge between the driver and the customer.

To avoid cancellations, the app would allow the drivers to choose the trip. During the peak hour and nighttime, the drivers could increase the fares by up to 10 per cent and passengers can also provide a tip to drivers.

Namma Yatri's driver app in Chennai is available in Tamil. Some locations that will be covered include Valluvar Kottam, Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Birla Planetarium, Lighthouse, Tidel Park, and the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital.