Collective Efforts of People
India and several other countries in the world exhibit a queer but good and useful phenomenon. I am talking about ‘collective’ effort/s by people. These efforts range from beating up a thief if caught in broad daylight or sometimes even moonlight, keeping prices of services/commodities/nearly anything under check, sharing autos or taxis or probably anything (by anything I mean roughly anything, and please don’t open my mouth regarding this because this isn’t the platform for it!), etc.
Sharing is present throughout the world.
And trust me, I have seen ‘share auto’, nay, it was ‘share taxi’ even in the most developed nation of our good old world, the USA. I, along with my friend, had arrived in Tucson (pronounced Tu saan), the second largest city after Phoenix (yes, this is where the late boxer Mohammed Ali lived until his death), the capital city of Arizona.
In Tucson and probably the whole of USA, nearly every taxi has a camera inside that is accessible to the taxi owner or the taxi firm. Communication takes place between the driver and the taxi owner. I felt these taxi drivers and the owners (at least some of them) were a bit lenient toward the locals about the taxi fares! Trust me, my observation/s may be wrong!
The local vs non-local issue
Of course, local favouritism is present throughout the world. We see this all the time. If locals feel that strangers or foreigners are utilising their service, at least some of the locals might try fleecing their customers. Of course, this is very rare. But it happens all the time. My topic, however, as you read it, is the battle between Rapido, the Indian ride-hailing service unicorn and something called ‘share auto’, especially in India. I am sure, this kind of ‘share auto’ or ‘share tuk tuk’ or virtually all kinds of ‘share nearly everything’ might be present throughout the world. But let us stick to Rapido vs Share Auto.
What is ‘Share Auto’?
As the name suggests, it is an auto (autorickshaw/tuk tuk) that is shared by several people, often unknown to each other, in other words, strangers. Well, what happens if anything is shared? The price of the service comes down drastically. And in many towns and cities, there is a ‘set’ price for a ‘set’ route. For example, in the place where I live, Kadapa, this price is INR 20/-. However, if the distance exceeds the ‘set’ route/s, the price doubles. This distance might be as little as just a few metres, say 100 metres. Oftentimes, this excess distance is away from the main arterial road.
Then came Rapido and other such platforms
Rapido started initially as a bike-taxi platform. Slowly, they transitioned to autos, cabs, taxis, and other modes of transportation. However, my focus is on Rapido and ‘Share Auto’ only. Once Rapido entered the auto-hailing business, many auto drivers started creating accounts on Rapido. Now, ‘share auto’ drivers run ‘share auto’ services as well as normal auto ones. Rapido charges customers per kilometre. Since the Rapido app utilises location-based services, the auto driver picks up customers at their requested location and drops them at the specified destination. There is no haggling over prices whatsoever!
Smart aleck Rapido Drivers
So, is there really no haggling at all? Well, there are some smart alecks everywhere. These drivers start bargaining even before the ride has begun! Let us say the price of the ride is INR 68, but some drivers demand as much as INR 120/-. Another new tactic employed by auto drivers to demand more money is regarding the destination. When a Rapido ride is booked, all the customer cares about is the origin, for which location access needs to be provided in the customer’s phone. About the destination, it is usually only the area’s name.
Now, what Rapido should be doing is calculating the fare according to the correct destination reached. Maybe it is already doing that. What some Rapido smart aleck auto drivers are doing is stopping at some random location or the one that Rapido chooses in a colony/area. And if the customer says that his/her destination is a little bit away, say in the next street, the auto driver demands extra fare for the little bit extra distance. Then he advises the customer to pinpoint the correct location on the map!
Smart alecks are present everywhere and in all fields
Recently, a Rapido auto driver demanded extra money for my location, which was actually 12 streets before my destination! Now comes the peak of insanity. I was trying to book a Rapido bike taxi from an area. For the first time in my nearly seven years with Rapido, I noticed a peculiarity. The Rapido app stated that no bike driver was ready to pick me up from my location for the correct fare that was displayed. Instead, it said that bike drivers might pick me up if I answered a short quiz!
Is it the beginning of the end of Rapido?
The Rapido app was showing me five higher fares – +INR 10, 20, 30, 40, and a ridiculously high fare of 50! It was saying a Rapido bike driver might pick me up if I offered one of these extra fares. Luckily, after a while, and relocating to the main road, I tried booking again.
This time, there was a bike driver who was completing a nearby ride. And was ready to pick me up at the correct fare. I thought this was the height of insanity. Customers like me and countless others choose Rapido because of its intelligent approach to both fares and time, using technology to connect customers who want a bike or an auto in the shortest possible time and at the most affordable price.
But this request for extra fares might cut short the Rapido success story very soon. After all, I have seen with my eyes auto drivers near Villivakkam station in Chennai city eagerly awaiting passengers. Only to see that none of the arriving passengers board their autos. Instead, nearly every one of them had already booked Rapido auto and was waiting for it. However, if the demand for extra money by Rapido continues, then very soon, no one might board either bikes or autos!