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‘Metro Mitra’ likely to begin operations from next week
The operations which were scheduled to begin from Thursday, have to be postponed for a week due to internal conflicts in the union.
The much-awaited ‘Metro Mitra’ application, a new service which aims to provide metre-based, last-mile connectivity to metro passengers across the state, is likely to start its operations from next week, officials familiar with the matter said.
While the Beta version of the application was launched at the Jayanagar metro station on Wednesday, the operations which were scheduled to begin from Thursday, have to be postponed for a week due to internal conflicts in the union.
Metro Mitra is an initiative of auto rickshaw drivers, that aims to provide last-mile connectivity from all metro stations in the city, in collaboration with Agnibhu Technologies, LatLong, and GiZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit). The app will be made available to customers through QR codes and WhatsApp chatbot.
According to D Rudramurthy, general secretary of the Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union (ARDU), the tussle happened due to name contestation with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). On Wednesday, the ARDU CITU, staged a protest in front of the metro station during the launch of the application.
“The app was launched on Wednesday and took a ride as well. But there is a protest coming up. We will sort out all issues by then and begin operations post September 11,” Rudramurthy said.
“They [CITU] accused us of using their union name for these initiatives. They alleged that we were cheating their autorickshaw drivers through ‘Namma Yatri’ and now with ‘Metro Mitra’. But we have not cheated anyone. The drivers can have good earning this way,” Rudramurthy added.
Rudramurthy said, the ARDU stepped away from its affiliation with CITU due to some differences in 2019. “The name of their union is ARDU CITU, which caused the altercation.”
He said that they will commence Metro Mitra operations from next week under a different organisation. “We have decided to register a new company for the new initiative by the name ‘Professional Autodrivers Association’. So, the Metro Mitra app will be run under this, not by ARDU,”
“We will make sure only those autorickshaw drivers who are willing to drive professionally, will be allowed to be a part of this. So, the issue has been sorted out,” he added.
So far, around 40 members have registered for the app, he said, expressing confidence that more people would join us.
“But we’re not letting everyone join, only those who are committed to being professional. We are educating everyone and will then let them join,” Rudramurthy said.
Rudramurthy said metro passengers will be able to scan QR codes and avail rides, adding that only the drivers would have to download the app. The customers have to pay the amount as per the meter prescribed by the government with ₹10 extra for maintenance of the application.
