| I've noticed a few things that seem to differentiate autos and taxis. Perhaps I'm overestimating their importance, and these are definitely just anecdotes and not data, but these might be worth considering: - Relationships. Almost everyone I know who has stayed in one city/area for more than 4-5 years has the phone numbers of a few auto drivers they trust. These are the first who are likely to get a call when they have time and need to make a quick trip to a friends house or the grocery store. OTOH, while The same goes for cabs, they tend to have the numbers of a local cab company, not the driver. The cab company gets a call only for longer trips; typically the ones that lead out of town. - Trust. Ties in with above, people are wary of unknown auto/cab drivers. I know a lot of people >40 tend to prefer calling someone they know rather than flagging down an unknown auto/cab, more so late at night. - Roads and weather. I know a few places where driving in a car is almost impossible. The roads are just too narrow to allow it. Perhaps not a large market for cabs but one heavily trafficked by autos. - Regional culture variations. Bangaloreans in my circles tend to prefer autos, while Mumbaikars prefer cabs. Delhi folks almost always prefer to drive. My point being I'd love to see companies like this adapt to these variations. I'd personally prefer to call an auto guy I know who works with this service, and then fall back to someone else if he's busy. Or bump me to a cab company if the distance is too far. Perhaps give my family a way to track me on pickup and drop if I'm heading in to the shadier parts of town. I think they will coexist. |