Kolkata: The West Bengal State Transport Department is planning to launch an app-based auto rickshaw booking service.
A trial run is going to start soon in New Town, Kolkata. If the experiment proves successful, then these app-based auto rickshaw services will soon start across Kolkata and the suburbs within the next few months.
According to the Transport Department, this will purely be an add-on service. There will be no changes in the current schedule of auto-rickshaws running on scheduled routes. Instead this will give additional benefits to citizens.
The normal auto rickshaw services provided allow four to five passengers to travel depending on the routes. However, this new app-based auto rickshaw service will only allow three passengers to travel.
Even if there is no fixed or scheduled route, the passengers can book auto rickshaws through the app in their areas and reach their destinations on time.
The state’s Transport Department has also held discussions with different auto-rickshaw drivers unions too on this project. Most unions have evinced interest in deploying this app-based service.
New Town was selected for the pilot project as it faces lesser traffic congestion than Kolkata. Therefore, it becomes an ideal location to test the effectiveness of auto rickshaws in a controlled environment.
If everything goes to plan, all urban areas across the state will soon witness app-based auto rickshaw services.
