Opinion | A toot for Tootle

Given the menacing attitude of taxi drivers in Kathmandu, a friend introduced me to Tootle, a two-wheeler ride-sharing application in August 2017. I had had some experience with Uber in the US back in 2014 when a friend of mine told me about this new innovation of using a private car for transport and how it had made life easier in cities where public transport and taxis are scarce. Plus, how it had changed the lives of both the users and the car drivers.

While revisiting the US in 2017, while returning from a party in the wee hours, we booked an Uber and I was talking to the driver. A mother of three kids, she is a stay home mom in the day and does Uber at night, after her husband returns from work. It had not only given her financial independence as well a break from her domestic chores. “It is refreshing to do Uber, I feel fresh to come out of the house. I get paid....and I get to meet new people each time...Worth it!”

With a high impression of Uber, I returned to Nepal in early December 2017. Now, we don't have Uber in Nepal. What next? Then, at that point, “Tootle” tooted in my head. I installed the app and started using it. It surely made commuting easier and affordable for single users like myself. The whole bargaining, pleading, and negotiating with taxi drivers became a thing of the past. Now, I take out my phone, switch on Wi-Fi or 3G, start the app, mark my location, my final destination and the ride will be right outside my doorsteps. 

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In September 2018, another new ride service entered the Nepali market. This time it was Bangladesh-born and bred Pathao service. After “Moving Bangladesh” it was finally in Nepal. Pathao suddenly became very enticing due to its promotional schemes. As its Google Map happened to be friendlier than Tootle’s, booking was easier and more user-friendly. (I had taken two free rides with the schemes.) In those days, I was more frequent with Pathao.

Initially, I thought I would meet the same riders. But to my surprise, it was a new rider every single time (though after frequent use I met a couple of them more than once). I started interacting with the riders and asking how they had started and how much they earned a month by associating with this service. Some of the stories are interesting enough to share. 

Lakpa Lama, 20, just out of high school, was doing full-time Tootle rides to save to go abroad for further studies. His daily expenses were also covered by ride-earning.

Suraj Thakuri Malla, 27, has a three-year-old daughter, does part-time Pathao rides, and saves all his earnings for his daughter to go to a good college. I trickily asked him how much he has made so far and he said in the past four months he had saved about Rs 90,000 from Pathao rides. A full-time worker at a construction office, he is hopeful of sending his daughter to a good college in the US or Australia.

Suresh Tamang is a returned migrant worker who is making a pretty good living working full time on Pathao as well as Tootle. He says he takes rides from both the apps and earns around Rs 45,000-Rs 50,000 very easily. He also shares that getting to stay with his family made whatever he earned in his own country all the more rewarding.

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Sanjay Tamang, a Tootle and Pathao rider, and I had a pretty rigorous discussion recently on our ride from Sanepa to Hattisar while stuck in rush-hour traffic. He told me how there is no insurance for the pillion rider and how bike maintenance needs to be his own if there is damage during the ride. He also lamented lack of extra benefits for the rides after hours (from 8 pm-11 pm). He asked me that if I write anything about this conversation then I should mention that, like the taxis getting one-and-a-half-time fares after 9 PM, these riders should have some extra perks as a motivation for riding in the dark in this freezing winter. (He too has a full-time job and works from 5:30 pm till 11 pm to make that extra income.)

These are a few of the stories of 100,000-plus riders all over Kathmandu valley who are associated with Tootle/Pathao. While lifting lives of all these riders and their families, these services have prevented women from all those incidents of sexual assaults and groping in public vehicles. They have helped youngsters be independent and pay their college fees. The government should either improve public transportation, which, of course, is a better option, or make taxis work in a systematic manner. The other option is to work things out “legally” for such life-easing innovations as Tootle/Pathao.

On the other side, such companies should definitely take customer care and service seriously. They are liable for the safety of the users as well as the riders. Proper training and safety majors should thus be their top priorities. My biggest dread is a rider with racing bikes like Ktm Duke or Pulsar 300 wearing socks on flip-flops.