NammaYatri app now part of open network for mobility

Bengaluru: NammaYatri, an auto booking service based in Bengaluru, has joined the Open Network for Mobility initiative of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). To democratise digital commerce, the non-profit foundation was formed by India's Commerce ministry.

By enabling users to schedule trips via their preferred applications and integrating several forms of transportation, including metro, auto, and buses, ONDC's open mobility strategy is anticipated to benefit customers. Juspay Technologies and Bengaluru drivers collaborated to establish NammaYatri, which enables drivers to provide their services directly to clients while charging no commission.

Over 45,000 drivers and 4.5 lakh users use the app, which just went 100% open and invited public participation. The app already keeps track of about 1 lakh weekly journeys, and by joining the ONDC network, it hopes to expand even more.

The CEO of ONDC, T Koshy, spoke with CNBC-TV18 about his goals for the open mobility network. "To start open mobility, we are in talks with a lot of cities all around the nation. There is unquestionable interest in having open mobility via ONDC from numerous cities. Other cities are attempting to enlist the assistance of regional businesses as well in order to join ONDC. Throughout the following year, we anticipate that all major cities will be connected to ONDC's open mobility network," he said.

Koshy further emphasised that a big user base for both buyers and sellers would be provided through the open network. "Both taxis and cars are being considered for inclusion in the open mobility network. I think ultimately all currently used platforms will see the value in joining ONDC. Although we have discussed joining ONDC with Ola and Uber, nothing is finalised yet," he continued.

Koshy further disclosed that Flipkart's e-cart is now merged and that Amazon's logistics service would soon be connected with ONDC. Snapdeal is now completely live on ONDC. According to him, ONDC's network should eventually include financial, personal care, and beauty products, and financial services may be able to provide customers with sachetized services through ONDC.

Anurag Jain, secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, complimented ONDC's collaborative framework for sustainable, cutting-edge mobility solutions and wished the team well in their endeavour.

Vimal Kumar, the CEO and founder of Juspay, stated that NammaYatri's objective of providing service providers with open, economical tech products that are customer-centric was aligned with the open innovation and problem-solving ideals of ONDC.ONDC, Beckn, and NammaYatri have announced a city-wide hackathon from March 23 to April 9 to help advance this objective.