yaary: Hyderabad gets own homegrown ride-hailing app Yaary on ONDC

Yaary has already onboarded more than 20,000 auto and taxi drivers in Hyderabad, and is collaborating with various other driver associations across other cities to launch similar mobility apps, the startup said in a news release.

The launch of Yaary comes at a time when the leaders in the ride-hailing sector, Uber and Ola, are faced with increasing competition in some pockets from new mobility apps. Bike taxi app Rapido last month entered the online cab-booking space, while Namma Yatri, built by fintech startup Juspay, has been operating as an autorickshaw booking service in Bengaluru.

On the lines of Rapido for cab services and Namma Yatri for auto rickshaws, Yaary plans to operate as a marketplace and will not charge any commission from its driver partners. The platform claims to charge a “nominal SaaS fee” from the drivers, which it said is one-tenth of that levied by traditional ride-hailing aggregators.

Also read | Mobility app Namma Yatri to start charging subscriptions from September

Yaary was founded by Hari Prasadh, Madhan Balasubramanian and Paritosh Verma, who have earlier worked with fintech companies including Juspay, Cashfree, Cleartax and CoinSwitch.

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“Yaary is building for the drivers with the drivers. It has been developed with the core belief that the drivers who power the ride-hailing ecosystem deserve utmost respect, support, and fair compensation. The platform is designed to prioritise the welfare of drivers, ultimately providing top-tier experience and reliability to passengers,” Prasadh said in the news release.Yaary provides the drivers with a platform where they are in control of their business, free from the constraints of hefty commissions, Nanda Kishore from the BMS Auto Union, Hyderabad, said.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Namma Yatri is engaged in a tussle with the city’s Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU), which wants to have a say in the ride-hailing firm’s future plans.

The ARDU is also expected to launch a WhatsApp-based chatbot feature next month to help users commute to and from metro stations in Bengaluru.

T Koshy, managing director and chief executive of ONDC, said: “ONDC is on a mission to democratise digital commerce and mobility is an important vertical. With support from DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) and MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), our mission is to have this available across all tiers of cities. Launch of Yaary is a great step in expansion of ONDC network’s footprint to Hyderabad and we welcome a new network participant in this domain to join in driving mobility growth across the nation”.

Yaary has already onboarded more than 20,000 auto and taxi drivers in Hyderabad, and is collaborating with various other driver associations across other cities to launch similar mobility apps, the startup said in a news release.

The launch of Yaary comes at a time when the leaders in the ride-hailing sector, Uber and Ola, are faced with increasing competition in some pockets from new mobility apps. Bike taxi app Rapido last month entered the online cab-booking space, while Namma Yatri, built by fintech startup Juspay, has been operating as an autorickshaw booking service in Bengaluru.

On the lines of Rapido for cab services and Namma Yatri for auto rickshaws, Yaary plans to operate as a marketplace and will not charge any commission from its driver partners. The platform claims to charge a “nominal SaaS fee” from the drivers, which it said is one-tenth of that levied by traditional ride-hailing aggregators.

Also read | Mobility app Namma Yatri to start charging subscriptions from September

Yaary was founded by Hari Prasadh, Madhan Balasubramanian and Paritosh Verma, who have earlier worked with fintech companies including Juspay, Cashfree, Cleartax and CoinSwitch.

Discover the stories of your interest

“Yaary is building for the drivers with the drivers. It has been developed with the core belief that the drivers who power the ride-hailing ecosystem deserve utmost respect, support, and fair compensation. The platform is designed to prioritise the welfare of drivers, ultimately providing top-tier experience and reliability to passengers,” Prasadh said in the news release.Yaary provides the drivers with a platform where they are in control of their business, free from the constraints of hefty commissions, Nanda Kishore from the BMS Auto Union, Hyderabad, said.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Namma Yatri is engaged in a tussle with the city’s Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU), which wants to have a say in the ride-hailing firm’s future plans.

The ARDU is also expected to launch a WhatsApp-based chatbot feature next month to help users commute to and from metro stations in Bengaluru.

T Koshy, managing director and chief executive of ONDC, said: “ONDC is on a mission to democratise digital commerce and mobility is an important vertical. With support from DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) and MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), our mission is to have this available across all tiers of cities. Launch of Yaary is a great step in expansion of ONDC network’s footprint to Hyderabad and we welcome a new network participant in this domain to join in driving mobility growth across the nation”.