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On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of the podcast talks to Niranjan Aradhya who, with guidance from transport expert Satyajit Arikuthram, is building a back to the future Nagara Metered Autorickshaw app on ONDC. They claim to bring back street hailing of autorickshaws which go by government compliant meters but also leveraging ONDC seller component for discovering customers all the while bringing back true agency to the driver. In this conversation we wade through the evolution of ride sharing from commission models of Uber, Ola to SaaS subscription models of Namma Yatri to the digital cooperative movement of driver led meter based street + app based ride hailing.

The conversation discusses the need for a new app called Nagara in the auto-rickshaw industry in Bengaluru. The app aims to solve the issues of driver agency and commercial autonomy that are lacking in other aggregators. Nagara focuses on running the fare meter, which is a regulatory requirement, and aims to bring back professionalism to the drivers. The app also allows for street hailing and offers income transparency to the drivers. The conversation also highlights the challenges of interoperability and the lack of support from the government in empowering small entrepreneurs in the mobility field. Niranjan Aryadev, the founder of Nagara, aims to address the root problems in the transportation industry by creating a democratized platform for small entrepreneurs. The platform focuses on operational efficiency and driver satisfaction, ensuring that drivers are not exploited and have agency over their work. Nagara also aims to reduce cancellations by allowing drivers to choose the areas they want to operate in. The advantage of joining the ONDC app for Nagara is the support and marketing assistance they receive. However, there is a need for ONDC to widen its circle and engage with more entrepreneurs like Niranjan.

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Keywords

Nagara, auto-rickshaw, app, driver agency, commercial autonomy, fare meter, professionalism, street hailing, income transparency, interoperability, government support, small entrepreneurs, Niranjan Aryadev, Nagara, transportation industry, democratized platform, operational efficiency, driver satisfaction, driver agency, cancellations, ONDC app, support, marketing assistance, widening circle, entrepreneurs

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Chapters

00:00 Breaking the Monopoly of Commission Based Business Models

06:02 Solving the Issues of Driver Agency and Commercial Autonomy

10:46 Bringing Back Professionalism with the Fare Meter

11:46 Street Hailing and Income Transparency with Nagara

19:50 Challenges of Interoperability and Government Support

27:54 Creating a Democratized Platform for Small Entrepreneurs

33:35 Addressing the Chaos at the Auto Drivers' End

38:43 The Focus on Social Entrepreneurship

41:06 Creating Space for Regulatory Changes

49:08 The Importance of Metered Autos and Regulation

52:50 The Vision of a Digital Cooperative

54:39 The Need for Regulation and Fairness

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Stock video and picture credits to various contributors. All rights belong to respective owners. Show notes generated by Riverside AI.

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