Should Ola, Uber be worried? Drivers launch their own app

Ola and Uber charge 25 percent of the total earnings of the drivers as commission. On the contrary, SEWA will have a fix amount of ₹ 700 per month which is way less than what Ola and Uber charge.

Few days ago, the Ola Taxi For Sure and Uber Drivers’ Association in Bengaluru decided to launch their own app and named them HDK as former Chief Minister and JD(S) President HD Kumaraswamy is going to fund the launching. Following the footsteps of OTU, Chalak Shakti, a taxi union in New Delhi also has decided to launch a new app called SEWA.

The president of the Chalak Shakti, Sahdev Panchal, stated that the drivers are extremely disappointed with their current earnings with the app-based cab aggregators like Ola and Uber.

These cab aggregators used to charge 25 percent of the total earnings of the drivers as commission and that infuriated the drivers across several cities. On the contrary, SEWA will have a fix amount of ₹ 700 per month which is way less than what Ola and Uber charge. Therefore, they have decided to launch their new app.  

“The app will be launched in April. We have thought of April 7 as the date to launch it, but we will announce that soon. There are more than 5,000 drivers on-board now and we have contacted a few companies that could help us with the logistics like building the app, setting up a customer care centre, marketing consultation and a few others,” Panchal said.

SEWA is not going to have a sign-in option. The moment the passenger enters his/her phone number, the meter will start running. Also SEWA will accept cash in the beginning and later the options of mobile banking and other online payment options will be added.

“Initially, SEWA cabs will accept only cash and later mobile wallets and online payment options will be added to the app. Once the online payment option is up and running, the money will be deposited directly into the bank accounts of drivers,” Panchal added.