, ‘s auto booking app, has launched in Chennai with 10,000 drivers live on its platform.
The company plans to onboard one lakh drivers in the next six months in Chennai.
The app will be available to Chennai’s auto drivers in Tamil and target prominent locations in the city, said the company.
“Namma Yatri is more than an app; it’s an attempt to empower the drivers, to build product and technology that is inclusive and help drivers embrace the customer-centric mindset,” said Vimal Kumar, CEO and Founder of Juspay.
Namma Yatri launched in New Delhi earlier this month with 10,000 drivers on the platform to make first- and last-mile connectivity with metro services smoother.
Part of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the app has been scaling across cities in India in partnerships with state governments. In Kolkata, where it is known as Yatri Sathi, it helps people book the iconic yellow taxis.
Initially, the app did not charge auto drivers any commission and was touted to be a platform that helps drivers discover rides digitally. However, with costs from engineering, R&D, and marketing burning a hole in Juspay’s pockets, it decided to start charging a subscription fee of Rs 25 per day for unlimited trips, or Rs 3.50 per ride, with no charges after 10 rides.
Commenting on the 0% commission model, Ola, which also offers auto rides and is arguably Namma Yatri’s biggest competitor, said, at a press conference last week, that it is inherently unsustainable and has no potential to scale.
“It’s just a tactical move to gain market share here or there, and the capital markets don’t support you to do it over five, ten years of long term. I think, people doing that will have to realise they’re burning their way down to hell or something else,” Ola’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal said.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
