Auto-rickshaw service-provider Jugnoo on Sunday (February 12) entered a new segment -- which is dominated largely by Uber and Ola -- by launching cab services in Gurugram. SoCoMo Technologies, which runs Jugnoo, will soon expand the Jugnoo Cabs services to other cities, the Mint reported.
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The move comes as drivers working with online taxi aggregators Uber and Ola have disrupted services in Delhi for the past three days and are expected to expand their strikes to other major cities like Bengaluru and Chennai.
Alleging withdrawal of their incentives by both Ola and Uber, approximately 50,000 drivers in Bengaluru, 25,000 drivers in Hyderabad and about 5,000 drivers in Chennai are reportedly planning a strike on Wednesday (February 15).
"We are focusing on a strike across major cities in South India. The minimum Rs 1 lakh monthly revenue promised to us in the beginning doesn't exceed Rs 30,000 now, and many drivers have to pay at least Rs 16,000-18,000 on EMIs," Tanveer Pasha, president of Ola, TaxiForSure and Uber (OTU) Drivers' Union in Bengaluru, told the Economic Times.
In India, Bengaluru is the largest market for both Uber and Ola, accounting for about one-third of their combined business of around 1,50,000 taxis.
Meanwhile, Jugnoo expects the taxi drivers to move to its platform following the withdrawal of drivers' incentives by Ola and Uber. However, it said fares on its platform will be higher than those offered by Ola and Uber.
In July 2015, Chandigarh-based hyperlocal marketplace Jugnoo had acquired Mumbai-based taxi aggregator BookMyCab, which at that time operated a fleet of 2,000 cabs in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The acquisition provided Jugnoo a platform to expand and launch its services in Mumbai. Currently, it covers 40 cities with about 12,000 auto-rickshaws on its platform.
Last month, Jugnoo launched Menus, which enables customers to order food from top restaurants and quick-service restaurants (QSR) in their city, empanelled with menus. The company is geared up to start operations in Noida, Gurugram, Indore, Chandigarh and Jaipur, and later launch Menus across all locations in India where it has a presence.
