The countrys first State government-owned online cab aggregator - Kerala Safari, is likely to be rolled out in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts shortly

Following the success of the pilot project in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Savari, the nation's first State government-owned online taxi aggregator, is set to be introduced in the districts of Ernakulam and Thrissur.

In a few places in Ernakulam, autorickshaw and taxi drivers are now registering. Tuesday saw the holding of one such registration camp in Thoppumpady. Both the Google Play Store and the App Store provide the Kerala Savari app. 

"Before deploying it in the district, we want to assure uninterrupted service by enlisting the most cab and autorickshaw drivers. In Ernakulam, where the deployment method will be chosen after considering all factors, operators are increasingly using self-registration, therefore we have also published a training video on it, according to sources from Kerala Savari.

The Motor Workers Welfare Board's service, which is run under the supervision of the Labour department, was introduced in Thiruvananthapuram in August. The initiative's stated purpose is to make it possible for the general people to travel safely at prices that have been approved by the government without resorting to the "surge pricing" tactic used by private online taxi aggregators to increase profit while also ensuring drivers receive their fair share without unjustified reductions.

Although the programme was initially intended to be expanded to new districts immediately after the pilot project launched, it was delayed to address operational issues. "We improved the app by incorporating operator suggestions. When the service proved to be a tremendous success in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation regions, it was progressively expanded to a few select localities beyond the Corporation borders. The app has around 21,000 users and 2,500 operators as of right now. According to the sources, there may be even more app downloads.

Operators are assured to get the full fee; however, of the additional 8% service charge, 6% goes to the technical partner and the remaining 2% is used to cover implementation costs and to give customers and drivers incentives.

Although there was a dropout of drivers in Thiruvananthapuram at first due to a lack of clarity in the circumstances, the sources stated that they may be persuaded and brought back into the fold.