What is Namma Yatri? 🤔

Now, let's get a feel of what Namma Yatri is: Click here

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Why pick Namma Yatri? 🤷🏾‍♂️

Ok, but first let's read a small story!

My first experience of hearing about namma yatri was through a familiar auto driver, asking me to book auto rides through that. Digging a little deeper, I learnt how two different auto driver unions came together to create, namma yatra and Rook, two apps that were set to take on Ola and Uber on their home turf in Bangalore.

Subsequently with fierce word-of-mouth outreach, ads on auto rickshaws, great press releases, and a huge driver pool. Namma Yatri became synonymous with a reliable, cheap and preferred platform for booking autos, Rook died down.

Their insane growth record sets them apart in this insanely competitive ride-hailing market where 90% of it is still unorganised.

Being a power user and using Namma Yatri almost 7-8 times a week, I picked Namma Yatri as my product for this acquisition project as I believe it has the potential to solve pressing problems in the last-mile mobility space.

Immense scale of operations

App Downloads - 1.5mil+ (considering all their partner/sister apps)

Average Rating: Namma Yatri - Ride Booking App: Apple App Store: 4.9 stars across 70k reviews

Google Play Store: 4.7 stars across 160K reviews

Namma Yatri Driver App: 4.6 stars across 97k+ reviews

Rapid Growth and Expansion

Launching in Bangalore and expanding to 7 cities, Namma Yatri's growth trajectory demonstrates strong market acceptance and demand.

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​Transitioning from PMF to Early Scaling

• Despite facing significant challenges in the competitive ride-hailing market, Namma Yatri is demonstrating remarkable growth and resilience by spending Rs.0 on marketing.

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What does the product solve for? ⚡️

Namma Yatri helps you get from point A to point B by enabling you to book Auto Rickshaws on-demand

Existing apps like Ola, Uber, and others often fell short of truly satisfying both commuters and drivers. This is where Namma Yatri stepped in, aiming to bridge this gap with its open network platform and zero-commission model for drivers, promising a fair and transparent deal for everyone involved.

- Before Namma Yatri

• Complicated application interfaces
• High charges for auto rides through apps and offline
• Long lead times to get a driver matched online, having to walk the considerable amount of distances offline to find an auto
• Lack of Transparency in trips and fares data
• peak-time ride charges exploitation by drivers
  

- After Namma Yatri

• Easy-to-use application built in by receiving feedback from users (drivers and commuters)
• Reduction in fares (ensures drivers retain full earnings without commission cuts)
• comparatively faster matching with a driver due to a huge pool of drivers
• Open data regarding trips and fares are open to the public
• Transparent peak-time charges and option to tip driver (extra incentive opportunity)

Users - ICP definition 🛍️

For Namma Yatri, specific influencers would include urban commuters seeking affordable and transparent auto-rickshaw services, individuals who prefer shared and public transportation options, and auto-rickshaw drivers disillusioned with the high commission rates of other ride-hailing platforms.

Key blockers could be the entrenched loyalty to established platforms like Ola and Uber due to their brand recognition and perceived reliability, the initial resistance to adopting a new platform both from drivers and users, and potential technological barriers among less tech-savvy users.

Sample size: Received 24 responses for the user survey and 2 responses for the driver survey, did 5 live interviews of users and 3 live interviews of drivers (responses here and here)

The objectives of the surveys and Interviews were to find out more about user demographics, discovery and usage, comparison with other services, satisfaction level, valued features, suggested improvements, and notable experiences.

-> General User Sentiment: User sentiment towards Namma Yatri is somewhat positive.

• Key positive phrases - social impact, reliable service, safety features, inclusive rides, faster driver matching
• Phrases calling for improvement - users are hopeful for reduced cancellations, better features of the app, further reduced costs, better maps, and better payment options.
  

-> General Driver Sentiment: Drivers’ sentiment towards Namma Yatri has depreciated over time, with the introduction of “small” fees for drivers to benefit from their bookings.

• Key positive phrases - “was really good before now they’re also becoming like Ola”, “I’m able to earn well using NY”, I” ’m not worried about a bad day anymore, I know how and where to get bookings”, “I’m making way more money than I made with Uber”, “I like the daily earnings tracker”
• Phrases calling for improvement - “customer care is pathetic”, “they also are cheating us like Ola and Uber by charging us 2-3 Rs per ride”, “app is very bad, hangs all the time”, “maps in NY is the worst, I always have to ask the customer for location in google maps”, “I used to get bookings before, now I’m not getting anything”

Customer Segmentation

1. Frequency Frequency-based - Users who rely on Namma Yatri for their daily or weekly commute for work, school etc. They value reliability, quick driver matching, and cost-effective rides
   

2. Community Oriented - Younger users especially value Namma Yatri for its features like SOS safety enhancements, Purple Rides for individuals with disabilities, and the app's community-oriented approach that supports higher earnings for drivers

3. Exploratory Users - Those who are testing Namma Yatri in comparison with other services, looking for a better overall experience in terms of cost, reliability, and service quality

Core Marketing Pitch 🔊

The Core Value prop of Namma Yatri would be:

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“Fast, easy and affordable rides to move anywhere in your city”

ICP #1 - Still waiting for a ride? Jump onto Namma Yatri for auto bookings that bring you lightning-fast pickups, clear pricing, and safe journeys, all at the touch of a button. Your hassle-free commute starts now.

ICP #2 - No more standing under the sun waiting for an auto! Book your ride from the comfort of your home. Fast pickups, reliable drivers, and safe, budget-friendly travel. From daily errands to school drops or special occasions, let us take you there. Book an auto in 3 steps with Namma Yatri!

Product Category /Positioning /Competition 🚨

Post keyword research Namma Yatri directly competes with Uber, Ola and Rapido in the auto ride-hailing segment.

Why Namma Yatri is better?

• Zero commission model for drivers
• Built on an Open Platform - easy to integrate with other modes of transport (ONDC-induced Ridership Boost)
• Somewhat better driver matching - quicker lead times to book an auto
• Support from the auto union (ARDU) and govt
• Easy onboarding for drivers and users (less friction to make first booking)
• Drivers are not tied by extra charges and company policies -> make more money
  

What Namma Yatri can learn from Uber, Ola and Rapido:

• Better App experience and quality of technology used (Google Maps vs Open Street maps, better matching algorithms)
• Better Customer Service initiatives (Bots, Helplines), quicker conflict resolution
• Better Payment Options (BNPL, Credit, Wallet)
• Better Marketing Initiatives and growth experiments
• Cost is being optimised for end users, thus prices are sometimes lesser than namma yatri sometimes
• Option of trying other travel modes/vehicles when one isn't available or is expected to be late
  

Quicker rides, Trip Guarantee, Transparent Billing, Safer rides and Simplified commute are some core themes Namma Yatri should be exploring while positioning itself in the Auto-ride hailing market, optimising on cost would be disastrous as the competitors are much more heavily funded and can win the discount game. Namma Yatri’s positioning strategy should revolve around safe and quick rides with transparent fares and improved customer and driver experience.

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The Market 🌏

Calculations:

• The revenue of the ride-hailing market in India was at 6.42 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 (Statista)
• 90-93% is unorganised market = 7-10% market share for organised players = ~ 300-500 million US dollar market (2500-3700Cr)
• Uber ride-hailing FY23 revenue - $80Mil (679 Cr) (Source)
• Ola's ride-hailing FY23 revenue - ~$150-$250mil (Rs 1,900 Cr via Entracker)
• (The whole market is for all types of ride-hailing incl Taxis, Autos, Bikes) Assuming ~15% of total market was auto-rides hailing = $30-75mil (250-600Cr)

Conclusions:

TAM - Ride-hailing market - $6.42 billion

SAM - Organised ride-hailing - $500million (at ~8%)

SOM - Auto ride-hailing - $100million (at 20% of SAM)

Competition 🆚

These are the 3 competitors I was able to identify on the following basis:

1. UXR
2. Keyword research
   

JTBD

Acquisition Channels

For its launch market- Bengaluru, the main channels of acquisition for Namma Yatri have been extreme-WOM-led. Apart from this, the driver community endorses Namma Yatri to existing customers and nudges them to use Namma Yatri due to its Zero-commission model.

Other channels of awareness were bought in by Press Releases, significant partnerships and sharing success stories of its rapid growth. The ease of scalability of the app across the Beckn protocol has enabled Namma Yatri to quickly expand to 7 cities in an incredibly short period. As a company that seeks to grow across India rapidly NY has shown tremendous improvement in product features, reliability, and inclusivity.

Hence, classifying Namma Yatri as an Early-Scaling stage product, here are three experiments I would run across the given channels:

Experiment 1: Product Integration Partnership with State Public Transport Unions (Buses and Metro, think BMTC/BMRCL)

Aim: To enable pre-booking of the last-mile auto rides from the desired station/stops/home to the desired station/stops/home

AHA! Moment: Enter OTP and get into the auto at the designated pick-up near your favourite metro/bus station

Flow:

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Screens for WhatsApp booking of Last-mile rides:

After the Yes, in this flow, namma yatri's WhatsApp booking flow starts.

Experiment 2: Referral Design - changes

Namma Yatri does not actively run a referral campaign for users but does for drivers though. Currently, there is only one option to share the app. Assuming they don't want to spend money on referrals, these changes will enable them to drive higher shares. (based on UXR)

Current Design:

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Right now, there's just one place from where users can share the app!

Suggestions to Improvise:

1. Place referral prompts at places where the AHA moment kicks in (quick booking)
2. Better discoverability of the share app button (mentioned below)

Flows/Placement of referral CTA:

1. Once the booking is confirmed - send referral CTA through notifications
2. Permanent share app button on the home screen
3. From UXR observations, Once the trip has started - the user can refer using the share app button on the ride screen
4. Post driver rating, a pop-up advertisement (with an ‘x’ option to close), to refer your friends with the messaging being related to the core value prop
   

Experiment 3: Driver-led Referral Programme

Context: The strongest word-of-mouth message came from the auto drivers, vouching for the app because of its 0-commission model.

Aim: Introduce a driver-led referral programme, that waives off the newly introduced driver fees that NY charges its driver to use the platform to receive bookings

Flow: QR codes in auto to invite people via other apps - incentive highlight Incentive: For Driver: reduction/waive off in plan fee and Cashback/points to redeem discounts on future rides for the users

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Conclusion 🤯

As Namma Yatri propels forward in India's transport ecosystem, its path is marked with opportunities and challenges alike:

Future prospects

1. Expansion to other cities
2. Diversification, added services
3. Strategic partnerships
4 Data utilisation

Challenges ahead

1. Scaling up the quality of service and driver relationships might become challenging.

2. Regulatory hurdles expanding to new cities

3. Increased competition

4. Dependency on a subscription model: While innovative, it's also untested at scale

5. Better tech infrastructure to prevent glitches and maintain a smooth user experience

While Namma Yatri's rise has been heroic, and its prospects look bright, its challenges are real.

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If I had more time? 🧠

The first times are overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, right? While being an exhilarating experience completing this projects there are some things I had planned to do but could not finish due to lack of time.

1. Reading through all the given material took more time than expected, learnt to parallelly focus on learning topics simultaneously while doing the project. Spent 2 days to finish the pre,post and other materials :/

2. More depth in certain sections - I was running a 100-m sprint with the project, did not have time to prepare better and go deeper. Regret :/

3. Well, take the positives and work on the negatives? I'll be better prepared for the coming week, that's for sure!

Thanks for taking the time to read and get here! Cheers!

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