Kerala Savaari fails to generate revenue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government's online taxi service app Kerala Savaari continues to be shrouded by problems. While most of the technical glitches which were raised by the auto and taxi drivers at the Kerala Savaari employee meet held on February 26 have been resolved, their complaints about not receiving enough ride requests through the app persists.
“We feel that the government has deceived us. The app is not marketed properly, and as a result the public are unaware of the app, adding to this, their efforts at promoting transport buses defeats the purpose of the app. People will obviously tend to opt for a Rs 10 ride rather than relying on a taxi app for short to longer distances,” said Chandrika (58), an auto driver registered with the app.
According to an official, the app has been facing pressure through negative propaganda, from other private companies since its launch. “They spread hate among the driver groups saying that the charges are not enough and also criticise the technical side from time to time. We have taken action based on genuine requests like restricting the city limit within 8.5km and are working on the technical glitches. We have also submitted our request with the government to fix a separate out-of-city rate and increase the charge on par with prepaid stand autos and taxis,” the official said.
The drivers being unavailable to accept rides contribute to a never-ending cycle of issues. Out of a total of 2,167 registered drivers, including both autos and taxis, only about 200 are available to take up rides at a time. “It is natural for such a platform to take time to reach a profitable stage. We believe that with the help of expansion, more people would be introduced to the app and the increasing number of requests will encourage the drivers further. Efforts at strengthening the marketing strategies by installing hoardings at prime locations and through social media are on the way,” the official said.
In January 2023, the app had around 14,091 users and talks were on to expand the services beyond the city limits.