Unstructured industries pose variety of opportunities and Bangalore’s auto rickshaw segment is one which needs some serious structuring..

EasyAuto, a service launched in 2007 (and was later shelved) has now restarted it’s services in Bangalore (Govt. of Karnataka has issued  a temporary license valid for 6 months to prove their validity)

Easy Auto Services is focused at two groups of users – the casual auto commuter and the regular auto commuter.

The regular auto commuter (i.e the one who uses auto rickshaws to commute to work, to school etc. on a regular basis) can register at the site and an send an SMS to request an auto pickup (the lead-time is 20 minutes!). . Once the request is recorded in EasyAuto’s system the registered member receives a booking number with which he / she can call them to check the status of booking any time.
EasyAuto’s system matches the availability with it’s auto driver pool (autos are fitted with GPS device, so that their location can be identified) and phone number of the driver is informed to the commuter by SMS.

The casual commuter can ply by Easy Auto by taking one from Easy Auto Stands and Kiosks (yet to be established by the Trafic Police). There are nearly 1500 Easy Auto Stands and Kiosks in Bruhat Bangalore. Each auto stand is located at vantage spots like close to BMTC bus stops, hospitals, hotels, railway stations, malls etc.

For autorickshaw drivers, the system just helps them get more passengers (even in remote locations).

The commuter needs to pay Rs. 3/trip as the service charge to EasyAuto.

The company is also looking at it’s ‘fleet’ of autos as a distribution channel for sales of soft drinks, water, snacks (in partnership with Pepsi).

If you are from Bangalore and like this concept – do use their service (and share your feedback). The company has only 6 months to prove that the idea has some potential.

Tags: auto rickshaw, Bangalore, easyauto, offline distribution channel