India’s home grown alternative to Uber charges just 23p a day – and
Sitting in his motorised rickshaw in Bangalore, wiping the handles with a cloth in the 34 degree heat, Rangaswamy Gowda vows to be free of a costly new boss.
He brands the boss – Uber – as “that man.” a man grabbing 25-30% of earnings for an app connecting passengers with drivers across India.
Defiant Rangaswamy runs off the names of some of the states where Uber’s making inroads.
“Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka… all these states that man is in, how much money must he already taken?”, he says.
The answer may be a small fortune with over 1.1 million active drivers on the uber platform in India and its presence in the country set to grow.
“I pay my insurance, I pay my fuel, I pay my vehicle costs, so why should i give any money to him?”, Rangaswamy continues.
But revolt is in the air as auto rickshaw drivers start to turn their backs on the mighty us international technology corporation.
Drivers have poured their hope into commission-free app, Namma Yatri. India’s home-grown rival app, promises to leave drivers with more of their fares. Namma Yatri is just the latest example of India’s technology sector challenging dominant American companies.
Drivers are still charged a daily subscription fee – but it’s not such a “greedy man”, charging drivers around 25 rupees a day – about 23p.
Gone are the days of meters and face to face negotiating with auto-rickshaw drivers, as the average customer now glares at their phone screen, working out which app is offering a better price.
Auto-rickshaw drivers endure 14-hour long days in the heat, desperate to complete as many trips as possible so that they can pay off loans and meet daily expenses. This year, the city sizzled at a record high 41.8 degree Celsius.
An average day’s earnings can range anywhere between 500-1500 rupees (about £4.50 to £14) daily. However, the opaqueness of app algorithms is frustrating, particularly when one feels they are not being offered enough trips each day.
Ravikumar used to transport vegetables from Hyderabad to Mumbai, a journey of over 700km. His wife explains it was her who told him to start riding a rickshaw. She would remain restless when he was away on long road trips, but now he starts and stops work as he pleases.
However, the extent to which this is kind of autonomy is a reality is questionable. It is no secret that the app pays more during peak hours, leaving drivers with no choice but to work when roads are most congested.
For many, it doesn’t matter which man they work for- all apps are installed onto their phone, and they go with whichever pings first.
A no commission model is not the only precedent Namma Yatri is setting. Whilst auto-rickshaw driving is a predominately male role, in March 2023 the app onboarded its first female auto-rickshaw driver. To date they have onboarded 100 women drivers.
Priti, is a female driver now responsible for training other women. She used to work at a supermarket in Bangalore. But low pay and difficultly requesting time off led her to consider driving a rickshaw.
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“Some men have said what are you doing, go home this isn’t your job. Others have been supportive and when I’ve had a puncture, they’ve helped me,” explains Priti, who insists she has a newfound freedom.
As of February 2025, Uber has been eyeing up Namma Yatri’s subscription model for auto-rickshaws, with imminent plans to follow suit and switch to a zero commission format.
Whilst India’s homegrown app has been a remarkable success, it remains uncertain whether drivers will ever have full control over their earnings again. Tech ‘middle men’, between customer and driver, seem set to stay.
