A bunch of professionals in business administration, logistics and information technology have come together to launch Kerala’s first radio taxi service here.
The start-up, which began operations in January this year with an initial investment of ₹ 3 crore and has a user base of 5,000, was formally launched on Thursday night by State Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
The founding team’s members who developed the concept are Vijay Nair (Managing Director), Anjana Balachandran, Sandeep Bhaskar, Adarsh Unnithan, Peethambaran, Suresh and Naufal.
The control centre at Panampilly Nagar here tracks, monitors and locates vehicles round the clock using a satellite-linked GPS system.
This helps in automatically locating and dispatching the nearest available cab to the customer, thus minimising the waiting duration and fuel consumption, Vijay Nair, Managing Director, told reporters.
The project, called Taxio, aims at providing cars to customers in 10-15 minutes of actual booking, irrespective of time of requirement, according to company officials.
There are also plans to develop a mobile-based app to book cabs. Taxio presently has a fleet of 75 cars and another 25 will be added soon, Nair said.
All drivers recruited have to comply with a police verification formality to ensure a clean record.
Sandeep Bhaskar, Chief Technology Officer, said the amount of technology and innovation put into this project will play a vital role in ensuring customer satisfaction on account of the promptness of vehicle availability, their safety and affordability.
Technology helps reduce dead run to 50 per cent, thereby conserving fuel, reducing pollution and traffic congestion and making the trip affordable, he said.
At any given point, customers can access the tracking system online and know the real-time location of their vehicle. This helps bring in accountability and brings peace of mind when a family member is travelling.
Customers need to pay only for the distance and time they utilise the vehicle.
Taxio presently has five women drivers and plan to take in some more.
There are plans to expand the service at Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, whereby passengers travelling between these cities need only pay half the existing fares as the vehicle would operate under local hub until a return trip is available.