27 April,2011 06:22 AM IST | | Parth Satam
Theu00a0'dial-an-auto' service will be again launched this May, for testing and expansion purposes by private service provider Ubida Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The service is close to being formally recognised and approved by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) and other important government bodies in the city.u00a0
At your call: The round-the-clock service will take off with 100 rickshaws
next month. representation pic
The service was started for the first time in April last year as a pilot project and was discontinued in December. Janardan Prasad, co-founder of Ubida Solutions, said that unlike last year, there would be round-the-clock services instead of only nine hours. "We will also not discontinue it after a certain period but keep it running till a formal approval is received from the authorities. This will help us in perfecting the operating system by the time it becomes official. We will however only start with 100 rickshaws this time," said Prasad.
The RTA is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the auto service, among other things. Once approved, a separate fare chart is expected to be chalked out for the service to cover operational costs like the call center.
Regional Transport Officer Chandrakant Kharatmal said: "We are awaiting directions from the state's transport department for the operation of the service. This will be based on system of pre-paid taxis that operate from various airports as in Mumbai," Kharatmal said.
