Bengaluru’s Namma Yatri autorickshaw-booking app to launch Purple Rides for disabled people

The app now has a feature that allows a user to register as a “person with disability” who needs assistance. The app directs the user to select the kind of disability he or she has. When such a user books a ride, the drivers are notified with a “purple tick” indicating that the customer is a disabled person. They will also be notified about the customer’s type of disability.

The drivers will be trained in folding and unfolding wheelchairs and escorting blind people to the autorickshaws

The autorickshaw drivers will be prompted to call the disabled people instead of texting them and sound the horn on reaching the pick-up location. They will be sensitised to help the customer with special needs and requests. On completing the ride, the driver will also earn a Purple Badge and get the Purple Ride Champion recognition.

The drivers will be trained in folding and unfolding wheelchairs and escorting blind people to the autorickshaws, besides being provided gender sensitisation.

The app directs the user to select the kind of disability he or she has. When such a user books a ride, the drivers are notified with a “purple tick” indicating that the customer is a disabled person.

Pattabhirama, an autorickshaw driver and the organising secretary of the Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union, welcomed the initiative. “However, the question is how many drivers are ready to help disabled people. While a section of drivers will be willing to help them out, most are preoccupied with their own personal problems and commitments like loans, children’s education, maintenance and traffic. It is mentally very challenging for autorickshaw drivers to prepare themselves to help disabled people,” he said.

Sathya Arikutharam, a mobility expert, said, “The decision to introduce rides that will assist persons with disabilities is a welcome move. However, drivers must be trained on a large scale to ensure behavioural change towards persons with disabilities. Perhaps, it would be also ideal if the developers fit the autorickshaws with a platform-like structure to help people climb smoothly.”

Namma Yatri, which was launched in November last year, has completed over 1.1 crore trips with total drivers’ earnings amounting to Rs 168 crore. The app has over 20 lakh users and 97,000 registered autorickshaw drivers.