An Auto Eureka Help

The next time you are in an autorickshaw with a chatty driver, maybe you should pay attention. You just might hit a business idea.

The next time you are caught in an autorickshaw with a chatty driver, maybe you should pay attention. You just might hit a business idea, as Mumbai’s Aadhar Bhalinge did. After listening to an auto driver rant about Mumbai’s traffic and the amount of time and number of customers lost in dropping him to his destination, Bhalinge upon an idea to develop a mobile phone app. He then submitted the app, called Smart Rickshaw Network or SRN, as an entry to a World Bank-sponsored competition and won a prize worth $20,000.

What does the app do? Tap a network of auto drivers who update live information about the traffic situation, which could be used by other commuters, the government and even the traffic police. While auto drivers and the app’s investors may not be happy about the cost of having to buy smartphones, Bhalinge has an environment-friendly plan—get used and discarded smartphones (that will eventually land in a garbage landfill) and affix a handset in every autorickshaw, next to the driver, who gets paid a certain amount for each update. Bhalinge also plans to fix a speed sensor in the handset just to ensure the safety of passengers and discourage drivers from using the app while driving.