Online threat' to She Taxis'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The  ‘She Taxi’ services are  facing a crisis following a dip in demand from their target group, though the initiative  had bagged the Chief Minister’s Award for Innovation in Public Policy (2014). The programme  launched in November 2013 was tipped to be a total game changer as it was aimed at providing self-employment opportunities to women with no regular income besides ensuring safe and convenient transportation facilities. The interest shown by many at the time of the launch has petered off.

“The entry of online taxi services has posed a serious competition through rides at cheaper rates. We cannot run on the same rates as tariff is fixed by the government. Moreover,  we have limited network,” said an official of  the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation.  The boom in online taxi services had adverse impact on women-friendly initiatives like ‘She Taxi’. Notwithstanding the bad patch, the KSWDC is keen to expand ‘She Taxi’ services. “We have accepted 30 applications from women drivers  and plan to  make  more enrolments,” he said.

“Background check on the drivers is conducted to ensure safety. A minimum of five years’ driving experience and driving test are mandatory. Direct contact is established through the helpline programme  as well,” he said. The safety of women during transit being the objective, ‘She Taxi’ had collaborated with a Technopark-based private firm for installing multiple security systems,  including alert switches for drivers and passengers and GPS trackers. This was later brought under one single system Mitra 181 (Women Helpline) after the KSWDC took over.

Social Welfare Minister K.K. Shailaja had thrown out the private partner following complaints from drivers about favouritism. “Earlier, apart from the 13 percent  that we earned out of trips, around Rs 30,000 was earned through advertisements  out of which 40 per cent goes to Gender Park and 10 per cent to call centres. The remaining Rs 9000 was paid to the drivers,” said a driver on condition of anonymity. Many drivers are finding it difficult to repay the loans and complain about the interest rates. But  the corporation is firm on going ahead with the initiative which ensured “shades of pink in a sphere of work which was supposedly male-dominated.”