MISSIONThe idea is to use the features of the GPS installed in the auto rickshaws in DELHI to locate commuters and for commuters to be able to easily find an auto-rickshaw in their neighborhood and to cash in on this new feature .

MARKET 70,503 total no. of auto-rickshaws currently operating in the city. 15,503 the no. of autos currently installed with GPS and panic button. 11,135 auto-rickshaws in which the GPS system is activated. Over 5,400 new auto-rickshaws fitted with global positioning systems

(GPS) have hit the city roads in the last one month. Auto-rickshaws fitted with GPS are connected with the Operation and

Command Control Centre (OCC) of the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) and it can track movement of all these vehicles.

The fare meter in new auto-rickshaws is also fitted with a printer and passenger can get printed receipt of the fare.

Price of each auto-rickshaw INR 2 LAKH approx Thousands of commuters in DELHI-NCR region who travel by auto-

rickshaws.

OPPORTUNITIES According to DELHI HIGH COURTS notice W.P.(C) No.2878/2011

dated 17th September 2012 it is now mandatory for auto rickshaws in the DELHI-NCR region to have a GPS system installed along with a PANIC BUTTON and a BILLLING MACHINE . And so the idea is to use the GPS facility installed in the auto and the mobile phone device to act as a mobile tracker via an android mobile app which will be used to interlink the two GPS with each other .

Currently most of the rickshaws operate near metro stations and market places making it difficult for commuters travelling to the inner city regions of DELHI-NCR to locate an AUTO or any other means of public transportation.

BUSINESS CONCEPTSTechnological aspects :-

At user/customer level :- It involves preparation of an android app which will interlink the users mobile GPS with the AUTORICKSHAWS . Currently there are apps by the MOBILE NO. TRACKER , MOBILE CALL TRACKER and others which have shown that tracing a no. and its location is actually possible .

The idea is to use the two GPS systems (along with the GOOGLE MAPS NAVIGATION) as a platform for sharing location info.

AT THE AUTO-RICKSHAW LEVEL

It involves the installation of a navigation system and an IC chip . Any attempt made by the customer to connect with the auto-rickshaw

will be passed through three levels of screening 1. Firstly the location of the customer will traced .

2. Secondly the nearest auto rickshaws will be searched for . 3. Thirdly the auto-rickshaw which covers the route which the

customer wants to travel along will be looked into.

If all three levels are cleared then a connection will be made between the customer/user and the rickshaw driver .

One major difficulty that can be traced is of multiple connections being made.

But then again to solve this only one auto will be connected at a time and in case the connection is being disallowed then the call will be passed onto the next AUTO-RICKSHAW

FINANCING and REVENUESSince the GPS system is being installed by the government therefore its

cost will not affect our project in any major ways. Although the additional cost of installing an IC chip needs to be looked into .The cost of development of the app is to be looked into . Though the current navigation ones available in the market range between US$ 20-50.

REVENUES

The initial downloading cost will not be charged so as more and more people download the app while the usage charges will be kept around INR 2 every time the user signs in along with a 5% fair charge in case of booking an auto.

Going by the current market scenario with around 11000 autos with the GPS facilityAnd thousands of daily commuters the plan is expected to earn a revenue of around 20,000 on a daily basis initially .

Sharing/using a persons location is a very private matter and this in turn can lead to legal obligations . Hence to overcome this it was proposed to mention the same in the licensing agreement for using the app . Before the app is installed and becomes functional the user needs to accept the licensing agreement which will have this as one of the clause.

Besides this the other major concern could be that currently there is only one government authorized distributor for GPS and printing machine in the market and hence this can very easily lead to monopoly in the market. On the other hand in case of removing restrictions on this can very easily lead to cost reduction.

LEGAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT Because socio-economic impact

assessment is designed to estimate the effects of a proposed development on a community’s social and economic welfare, the process should rely heavily on involving community members (in this case the auto-rickshaw-valas) for they have already shown their non-cooperation to the high courts notice and have threatened to go on strike demanding subsidies and the proposed plan will lead to more pressure being put on by these groups at the same time it will require rickshaw-valas to be educated in the technological aspects as well.

COMPETITIONRadio taxi , easy cab service etc are some of the services currently available in the market in this sector besides the regular public transport facilities . THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

However the plus point is that the charges of a taxi are much much higher than those of an auto-rickshaw.

Surveys show that although easily available taxi / cab services are not an integral part of DELHI’S transport system .

People more frequently travel by an auto than by a taxi .

Moreover in case of these cab services the commuter has to guide the driver most of the time , providing him with the directions for the exact location while in our case there won’t be any such problem.