CHENNAI: DO you offer rides to people out of goodwill? Now, you can make some money by doing so through the city’s first two-wheeler ride sharing platform Hitch Biker. The platform, the brainchild of three fresh graduates, will be launched in Nungambakkam on Monday as a pilot project and gradually extended to rest of the city.     

“Chennai has an exceptionally high number of two-wheelers and it’s about time people start sharing rides,” says co-founder and director of Hitch Biker Abhay Henry. Due to safety concerns, the app will have gender segregation. Riders will be paid `20 for first two km and `4 for every additional km.  
Interestingly, the app is completely free for users — those who hitch rides — while riders will have to pay a small monthly subscription fee. The introductory fee for riders will be `30 a month, which is likely to be increased in the future. “If riders submit the required documents (license and vehicle registration data) properly, verification process will take less than a day,” says Cleni Vijay, who manages field operations for the platform.   

The app will be similar to those used by Ola and Uber, with GPS support to identify and map the pick-up and drop locations. However, unlike Ola and Uber, there is direct transaction here between user and rider, says Abhay. “We do not take commission for rides, so rider keeps all the money he earns... no conditions apply.”

Abhay believes this will prevent riders, who take this up as a fulltime venture, from speeding to clock as many rides as possible. The platform will have a two-way rating system, says co-founder Arun James. “The rider will also be able to share his/her experience. This will be taken seriously, and misbehaviour of any kind will be dealt with strictly, including police action.” 

“One of our classmates in college had to quit studies because he couldn’t juggle studies and his part-time job,” recall the founders, explaining the inspiration behind the idea. “This really touched us and we wanted to find a part-time job that is flexible and allows you to decide your timings. That’s how Hitch Biker was born.”