[Exclusive] Namma Yatri to be divested from Juspay within a month

Juspay, the company that created and operates Namma Yatri, is in the process of divesting the autorickshaw booking app and will likely register the new company as a separate entity within a month, the company told YourStory.

Two of Juspay's C-suite executives—Chief Product Officer Magizhan Selvan and Chief Growth Officer Shan MS—will lead the separate entity, the company said.

"We feel that Namma Yatri has grown to a level that it needs separate investors. We want to raise funds to support growth and reduce costs," Selvan told YourStory in an exclusive interview.

One of the ways the company is looking to cut costs is by moving to OpenStreetMaps. Currently, 30% of Namma Yatri's mapping data is provided by OpenStreetMaps, with Google Maps accounting for the remaining 70%.

Namma Yatri is also looking to launch in Hyderabad and Delhi directly, however, the plans have still not been firmed. In Kolkata, Juspay has partnered with the government to launch Yatri Sathi app, which has seen over 3.5 lakh user downloads already. The app, like Namma Yatri, was built on ONDC, using the Beckn protocol.

In smaller cities, Namma Yatri says it is open to partnering with local organisations to launch an auto booking app.

"We're open to working with local authorities, entrepreneurs, [and] even student societies to help them set up a Namma Yatri-like app in their towns. ONDC makes it very easy to do so, and we've also open-sourced the code so deployment won't take time," Selvan said.

"An additional benefit of building this on ONDC is that when you visit a new city, you won't need to download the corresponding Namma Yatri app for that location; instead, you can simply book a ride in Kolkata, for example, directly from within the Namma Yatri app without downloading Yatri Sathi," he added, further stating that the feature will roll out in a few weeks.

The company is in the process of integrating with IRCTC and may also explore platforms such as Paytm Mini App Store.

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EV autos

Over the past couple of months, Namma Yatri has been enabling more and more drivers to rent out electric autorickshaws in Bengaluru. Women, in particular, have shown great interest in renting out e-rickshaws as they require infrequent maintenance and don't have too many gears.

To date, Namma Yatri has helped 50 women to rent out e-autos. It has also set up training modules where more experienced women help others learn how to drive.

"In the future, we hope to be able to negotiate interest rates on behalf of the driver community so we can get them better deals if they want to purchase an auto," Selvan said.

Namma Yatri currently has over 20 lakh users and 96,000 registered drivers in Bengaluru.