Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government's initiative, 'Kerala Savaari,' aimed at providing passengers with fair auto and taxi services, is encountering setbacks due to low driver commissions and vehicle unavailability. Many drivers have abandoned the project, citing insufficient incentives, while passengers have uninstalled the application due to delays in vehicle availability.

The Kerala Motor Transport Workers Welfare Fund Board inaugurated the first state-owned online taxi service ‘Kerala Savaari’ in August 2022. Training sessions were provided for the drivers, following the security inspection by police. The service charge has been fixed at 8 per cent.  

In March, as many as 1552 auto rickshaws and 340 taxis were registered in Thiruvananthapuram alone during the initial phase of the project. Though registered, many vehicles were not available in the online app. 

For the project to be successful, at least 1500 vehicles need to be available during rush hours in the city. However, the unavailability of vehicles has caused passengers to abandon the app, while the low incentives have discouraged drivers from participating in the project. Drivers have complained that the compensation offered under Kerala Savaari is considerably lower than that provided by private firms.

Meanwhile, a policy to regulate private entities in the online taxi service sector is the need of the hour as the passengers are facing issues with the high fares charged by these cab services.