LIFE AND ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL..LAZY INDIAN'S GUIDE ...IF IN PUNE AREA

LAZY INDIAN'S GUIDE ...IF IN PUNE AREA

Auto Pilot
Autowale.in

What: Doorstep autorickshaw service

Where: Pune

Do you know the first city in India where an autorickshaw was introduced for public transport? It was Pune in 1952. Little wonder then, that it’s also the first city to get the country’s only radio rickshaw service — Autowale. Brainchild of two IIT-ians Mukesh Jha (CEO) and Janardan Prasad (COO) — both from Pune incidentally — Autowale is a service that works like a radio taxi, only for autos though. Jha calls it a technology platform that links the consumer with the rickshawalah. The duo decided to use the city as a testing ground and the commuters as a lab rats in 2010. Two years hence, no one is complaining. As Ubida Solutions, Autowale that operates through online and call centre bookings, started with 25 autos and today, have 150 autos. They are aiming to reach 400 by the end of 2012. “We don’t own the autos but we buy kilometres in wholesale from them usually around 2,400 km in a month,” Jha says. A call comes and the closest auto responds. “We cut down on their empty running,” he says. The venture was supported by a local anonymous investor and angel fund Global Super Angels. This year, they plan to raise VC funding to scale up and go to other cities — Bangalore being their next choice. “Both Pune and Bangalore have unorganised public commute and a similar mix of consumers,” says Jha and adds that Autowale finds favour with women commuters. Incidentally, Ubida also planned the route mapping for the Commonwealth Games in the capital. The two techies want to become a full-fledged travel solutions company.
Red Letter Day

Post on Wheels

What: Neighbourhood mobile van of India Post;

Where: Pune

Think India Post. And you picture red letterboxes with chipping paint and government offices, again with chipping paint. But ‘Post Office on Wheels’ — mobile postal service for Pune — will make you do a double take. The spiffy red van is all set to put a new spin on the India Post image. The well-equipped van will run through various parts of the city daily offering on-the-spot services. West Pune is the chosen one, but it will spread its network soon. The van is authorised to handle all types of postal business — including e-enabled services, opening of new post office saving account, issue of certificates, sale of postcards, postal life insurance, UTI products and all other postal services other than speed post. And works from 8 am to 8 pm daily — longer than a post office! Not to mention, beats standing in the long postal lines and dealing with ‘out to lunch’ boards. Within a month of its inception the “Post Office on Wheels” managed a revenue of over 21 lakh (the recurring deposit scheme netted more than 19 lakh), according to the figures shared by the Pune City West Division postal department and was accessed by 25,000 Pune residents.