more-in A coordination of various trade unions is seriously considering the scope of developing a native mobile application that can help them professionally advance in the sector and challenge the entry of other monopolistic online taxi service providers to the city. Leaders of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) have come in support of the idea and will soon attend a meeting with District Collector U.V. Jose to discuss its possibilities and streamline the conventional services in tune with the changing times. Trade union leaders say they are not against online taxi service in the city as it offers several modern features to customers. They clarify that the resistance is only against the entry of monopolistic players into local taxi sector in Kozhikode with ‘unrealistic offers’ that they can withdraw at any time after achieving the initial targets. “We had earlier held discussions with the authorities about the possibility of launching a native mobile application. The plan was then to seek the technical support of the UL Cyberpark, but it lost steam midway,” said K.K. Mammu, general secretary of the Auto-Taxi and Light Motor Workers Union affiliated to the CITU. He said the same project could be revived again by seeking the support of the government. “What we want is a government-supported mobile application under the control of the Kerala Motor Transport Workers Welfare Fund Board. The Board has unused fund in its account that can be spent for designing a suitable application for the city,” said Mr. Mammu. He pointed that trade unions in the sector would agree with the idea and it will also ensure a transparent business by complying with all related government guidelines. Wooing customers Though trade unions are optimistic about the launch of Internet-based service linking around 5,000 taxi operators in Kozhikode city, they are yet to take a final decision on offering the service at a reduced rate to compete with their established counterparts in the sector. A major change that they hope to introduce with the Internet-based service for attracting customers is the revamping of the conventional style of taxi booking, and ensuring a quick response to those who rely on the latest technology to hire cabs. “At a recent discussion on online taxi service, the office-bearers of the Malabar Chamber of Commerce have taken up the responsibility of preparing a white paper as suggested by the District Collector studying the pros and cons of the system in Kozhikode city. We are ready to accept any suggestion, including the fare revision, on the basis of concrete studies like this,” said K.K. Preman, district joint secretary of the BMS. He also said that taxi operators would go ahead with their own project if the government-level attempt failed. Supporting the move to migrate to the online platform, INTUC leader M. Rajan said a change from the conventional style of operation was vital for the survival of thousands of taxi drivers in Kozhikode district. “We are open to discussions under the leadership of the District Collector. All the trade unions are optimistic about a favourable outcome,” he added.

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