【聯合報╱By MEGHA BAHREE╱陳世欽譯】
An Upgrade in the Rickshaw Market
PUNE, India — When Praveen Narayan Dusane first started driving an auto-rickshaw in this college town, he had to hustle for every rupee. He fought with other drivers and haggled with passengers over the fares. Typically, he earned just 300 rupees, or roughly $5, during a 12-hour shift.
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Now Mr. Dusane simply checks the text messages on his cellphone for his schedule, with pickups usually coming every hour or so. Business is so brisk that he recently bought an apartment for $33,000 and can send his three daughters to an English language school.
“Earlier I had to sometimes wait all day for a ride and even then it was up to your luck the kind of fare you got,” Mr. Dusane said. “Now it’s like you can see the money in front of you.”
In a country clogged with congestion, a handful of start-ups are using technology to more easily connect auto-rickshaw drivers with customers — an Indian twist to Uber and Lyft, the ride-hailing apps.
Mr. Dusane’s employer, Autowale, uses a program to map out potential routes and maximize pickups.
The three-wheeled, often black and yellow auto-rickshaws are ubiquitous in India . People can hail auto-rickshaws off the streets, but getting one depends on a combination of negotiating skill and luck. Most drivers tend to charge a flat, inflated rate, and often turn down prospective customers if the distance is too short or to an area from which they might not get a fare back.
Autowale is trying to make the process easier by offering rickshaws on demand. Customers can request a rickshaw through the company’s app or website, as well as the more old-fashioned method, its call center. Passengers pay a convenience fee of about 33 cents per ride.
Although Uber came to India last September, the service is expensive and focuses on taxis .
Autowale does not have all the gadgetry of Uber or Lyft. It does not use GPS, and most drivers do not have smartphones .
Instead, the founders created an algorithm that predicts an auto- rickshaw’s potential route for the day, and assigns pickups accordingly.
They send the driver’s schedule via text messages.
The company promises drivers higher and more predictable income, along with fewer runs without a passenger on board.
In return, the company receives a commission of 10 percent to 15 percent from the drivers. Autowale, which is not yet profitable, reported revenue of about $335,000 last year.
The first version of Autowale — founded by Janardan Prasad and Mukesh Jha, friends since college — failed.
They initially developed a network of 400 auto-rickshaws across Pune. But they had too many rickshaws and not enough passengers for the service.
“What had failed was a lack of commitment on both sides,” Mr. Prasad said. “It was kind of like dating. You have to commit to try to make it work.”
In the summer of 2011, they revamped their model and started out with five drivers, promising them a specific income, even if they didn’t get enough passengers. To commuters, they promised an auto-rickshaw if they booked one.
“We said to them, work with us for six months, and we’ll give you the rides and the fares and improve your income,” Mr. Prasad said. Within three months they had 75 drivers in their system and were executing up to a hundred trips a day.
Autowale now works with 850 drivers — including about 250 regulars — and ferries about 100,000 passengers a year. At its office, which doubles as a training space, Autowale conducts regular workshops. It has had to teach some older drivers how to read text messages and how to get a number from a text to call a customer.
“All they knew were two buttons — green to connect and red to disconnect a call,” Mr. Prasad said.
One of the areas of focus has been teaching drivers the concept of customer retention. For Autowale drivers, the chances of encountering repeat customers are high. And if they do not behave properly, they can dilute the brand and their own incomes. Mr. Prasad said, “The key is to earn with respect and dignity and in a professional manner .”
中譯
杜桑剛開始在印度馬哈拉施特拉邦的大學城浦那開營業用自動黃包車時，每一分錢都賺得十分辛苦。他會跟其他司機打架，還得跟乘客討價還價。他每天輪班工作12小時的收入，通常約僅300盧比（約5美元）。
如今，杜桑只須查看手機簡訊即可知道他的時程表，通常每一個小時左右就會有人叫車。由於生意非常好，他最近以約合3.3萬美元的價格買下一間公寓，還可以把三個女兒送到一所英語學校就讀。
杜桑說：「從前，我有時候必須枯等整天才能載到一趟客人。即使如此，能否拿到理想的車資還要靠運氣。現在，彷彿錢就擺在眼前。」
在交通壅塞的印度，一些新創公司正以科技為自動黃包車與乘客搭線，是叫車應用軟體Uber、Lyft的印度版。
杜桑的雇主Autowale以一種程式畫出潛在的路線，並使叫車的客人的數量達到最大化。
在印度，這種通常為黃黑二色的三輪自動黃包車無處不在。人們可以在街上叫車，能否順利搭上車則必須靠殺價技巧與運氣。多數的司機傾向於收取均一而灌了水的車資，而且通常在距離太短或可能空車回程時拒載。
Autowale簡化流程的做法是，為民眾提供叫車服務。乘客可以透過它的應用程式與網站叫車，或者以比較舊的方式打電話到客服中心叫車，每趟須加付約33美分的服務費。
Uber雖已於去年九月進軍印度，但比較貴，而且只針對計程車。
Autowale並沒有Uber或Lyft的全套裝置，不用全球衛星定位系統，多數司機也沒有智慧手機。
公司創辦人設計的一種演算法可以預測一輛自動黃包車一整天的可能路線，據以指派叫車服務。他們透過簡訊傳送司機的時程表。
該公司向司機保證比較高且可預測的收入，以及較低的空車率，收取10%至15%的佣金。Autowale去年收入約33.5萬美元，目前仍無盈利。
大學時期即已結識的普拉沙德與傑哈共同推出最初的Autowale，最後卻失敗。
他們最初在浦那發展出網羅400輛自動黃包車的網絡。問題是，他們車子太多，乘客卻不足。
普拉沙德說：「失敗的原因是，兩邊都不夠投入。這有如約會。你必須下決心，才能使它成功。」
2011年夏季，他們改造自己的模式，從五名司機開始，答應對方即使乘客人數不足也會有一定的收入。至於通勤族，他們承諾只要訂車就一定搭得到車。
普拉沙德說：「我們對他們說，與我們合作六個月，我們會讓你們載到乘客，提高你們的收入。」三個月內，共有75名司機加入他們的行列，每天最多載客100趟。
Autowale目前與850名司機合作，其中約250人是固定成員。他們每年大約載運10萬名乘客。
Autowale定期在兼具訓練功能的辦公室舉辦研討會。它必須指導一些較年長的司機如何讀簡訊，以及如何從中取得一個連絡乘客的號碼。
普拉沙德說：「他們只知道兩個按鍵：綠色鍵連線，紅色鍵斷線。」
重點之一是協助司機建立留住乘客的觀念。對Autowale的司機而言，乘客再度搭乘的機率相當高。如果司機言行失當，可能影響品牌與自己的收入。
普拉沙德說：「關鍵是，以受尊重、有尊嚴且專業的方式賺錢。」
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