Reclaiming the road and hitching a ‘pink’ ride this Women’s Day

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/reclaiming-the-road-and-hitching-a-pink-ride-this-womens-day Summoning a cab with just the click of a mouse (or a tap on a smartphone) may be a reality of the world we live in. But to think the same about an auto rickshaw seems like a luxury even today, despite the fact that auto rickshaws are far more visible and ubiquitous than cabs in any Indian city. When www.autowale.in began their journey in Pune, it was an unheard of affair. It was this gap that the duo from IIT Kanpur ­— Mukesh Jha and Janardan Prasad — tried to address, way back in 2011. Today, connecting almost 1,000 rickshaw drivers, ferrying almost 10,000 passengers a day within Pune, autowale.in is an exemplum of entrepreneurship with a vision beyond money-making; that of making para-transit an easier, more professional and more convenient affair. This International Women's Day, autowale.in are rebranding themselves as "pink". The hoods of each auto-rickshaw under their banner will be coloured pink to send a strong message about Autowale's commitment towards gender-sensitive transit traffic on roads. Janardan Prasad, the COO and co-founder of Autowale, says, "Women feel safer in auto rickshaws than in cabs. This was a surprising find for us. Much before the unfortunate Delhi Uber case, we found it increasingly persistent to tailor-make our para-transit network to expand it substantially to women travelers — attract more passengers as well as re-instill faith in our already existent customer base. We thought that going pink on Women's Day will be an extremely positive move in this regard." After the Delhi Uber rape case, one realised how unsafe the confines of a cab are. Women learnt, to their horror, through debates in traditional and on social media, that auto rickshaws are much more organised and systematised in terms of maintaining and verifying records of drivers. Police verification of drivers is a very process-oriented activity. The network of cabs, on the other hand, has no such tediousness associated with the registration process. So much so that a cab driver working across cities easily manages to drive in a new city as well, without the hassle of documentation and verification work. It becomes easy to imagine why the process of complaints' redressal is much easier and convenient for auto rickshaws, as compared to cabs. Prasad says, "The Uber incident made us reflect... If we had a robust transit network of auto rickshaws in cities like Delhi, the incident would not happened at all. It is with this thought that we realised that entrepreneurs like us, working on improving transit traffic on roads, need to send a strong and positive signal to our women passengers in making auto rickshaws a preferred mode of transport in cities. This International Women's Day, apart from merely appearing pink, we will also offer free rides to women travellers in our auto rickshaws and carry our awareness campaigns around corporate and residential locations." Delhi roads are currently being transformed by the extremely affordable rides offered by apps such as Ola. But however robust a system one works out with cab service operators, the sheer openness of travelling in auto rickshaws makes the experience relatively safer (there's always the option of jumping out of an auto rickshaw in case of an emergency). So an innovation like www.autowale.in should, in some way, change the state of public transport in the city. While similar applications do exist across cities, Autowale in currently only in Pune. However, following a successful pilot project in Bangalore last year, plans are in place to expand Autowale to 20 cities by the end of the year, spreading to as many as 100 cities by next year. It's worth pondering over: Why do women not claim roads as aggressively as they put their feet forward in claiming office spaces? Why is it that, while we try so hard in creating a feminist discourse around the country, we hypocritically alienate specific professions and spaces as less respectable and less honourable? One of the reasons why crime happens against women on roads is also because there are not enough women drivers and women managers of transit traffic on our roads. Sheela Kamble, one of the first woman auto rickshaw drivers on Indian roads, says, "Women need to realise that working in offices is not the only way to be employed and that this discrimination should end from we think of gender equality and claiming equal treatment. When I drove on roads, I came across so many women and men marvelling at the fact that I chose this profession. But for me, this was just another job. I did not want to make and sell pickles. Why does making that choice make me special?" "It is really empowering that women like Sheela are at the forefront," says Prasad, "trying to propagate a gender-neutral perspective not only from the confines of an elite round-table seminar but from a vantage point where they have worked, experienced and seen it all. Our going pink is also an exercise in venerating such strong women and creating a whole discourse around gender-sensitive and gender-neutral atmosphere on our roads." Kamble adds, "Apps such as these not only help passengers but also auto rickshaw drivers because it becomes easier for drivers to get their problems addressed. The fact that passengers can also cheat and misbehave with drivers is not registered in the public imagination." http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/reclaiming-the-road-and-hitching-a-pink-ride-this-womens-day