As Uber, Ola continue tussle with state govts, cabbies try different route

At a time when the business of commuters booking autorickshaws and cabs via apps is under a cloud due to the tussle between players such as Uber and Ola with state governments, alternative government-backed taxi/auto aggregator services are coming to the fore.

In August earlier this year, the Kerala government flagged off one of India’s first online taxi aggregator services owned by a state government. The project, named 'Kerala Savaari', is an Uber/Ola-like application that promises passengers safe and convenient rides with much more reasonable remunerations for taxi and auto drivers.

The first phase of the project was implemented in the city of Thiruvananthapuram as a 3-month pilot project.