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The success story of Jugnoo India’s largest auto rickshaw aggregator and taxi booking app

Founded by Samar Singla in November 2012, Jugnoo, India’s largest auto-rickshaw aggregator platform, is an innovative way people commute in the country.

The company was started with a vision to create a more efficient way of utilising available auto rickshaws, providing customers across India with a convenient and affordable way of hailing an auto rickshaw with a single tap. By crafting an integrated transportation experience, it quickly caught the imagination of commuters in India.

The company expanded into hyperlocal services, building an alternate platform for auto rickshaw drivers to deliver goods and meals alongside the provision of rides.

Jugnoo leveraged technology to digitize and streamline the traditional practices that were impeding growth in the auto rickshaw sector. To gain entry into the market, they designed a mobile app that gave users multiple options like fare calculator, online payments and GPS tracking which was tailored to their specific needs.

The app provided value beyond all expectations; it provided riders with convenience, comfort, and control. Jugnoo collected data on auto rickshaws along important routes making them more organized and accountable than ever before. Over time, users began to trust the service due to its speed and reliability.

Jugnoo experienced a surge of growth by constantly innovating, diversifying services and expanding their partner network across India-investing further into research and development. The company secured funding from leading investors and achieved milestones in scale without compromising customer experience.

By reimagining how people could interact with new transportation mediums and leveraging technology to turn ideas into sustainable opportunities, Jugnoo disrupted industry norms for alternate mobility solutions across India – paving the way for innovation in other cities as well.

Founders

1) Samar Singla

Jugnoo CEO, Samar Singla is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and graduated with a Btech degree in Physics. Before this company, Samar also founded Click Labs. He has also been working as a researcher at the University of Maryland and IBM.

He has also worked as a scientist at CERN, Geneva. He was aiming to change lives with the help of new technology.  He is now the CEO of Jugnoo. Besides Jugnoo, he is also serving as the CEO of JungleWorks. Founded in 2015 by Samar Singla, JungleWorks offers a complete technology stack for businesses.

2) Chinmay Agarwal

Jugnoo Ex-Co-founder and COO Chinmay Agarwal were also added from IIT Delhi. He got his Master’s in robotics from the University of Genoa and was a scientist at Smart Cane. He was also the Co-founder of Click Labs with Samar.

He also has a patent for Methods and applications for altitude measurement and the fusion of customers’ context detection with elevation motion for personal navigation systems.

In the beginning, Jugnoo’s founders, Samar and Chinmay were unaware of the major influence they were about to make on the daily lives of the common messenger and the auto drivers. Initiated with a casual attitude, they soon realized the situation was way more challenging and worse than anticipated.

Jugnoo success story

Jugnoo was started as an on-demand auto rickshaw service provider and introduced various user-friendly features to make it simple for users to book a ride. In 2016, Jugnoo introduced Jugnoo Bot, which allowed Facebook users to book a ride via Facebook Messenger, Jugnoo’s website, or its Facebook page.

Samar observed that the major issues in the auto rickshaw transport network were the stubborn uncooperative attitude of the auto drivers, unavailability, and unreasonable charges.

The idea was to tap the potential public transport medium in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, here you can take example the auto-rickshaw, so the public can hail it by using the mobile application, and the auto drivers can save on the waiting time; a concept similar to the cab services like Ola or Uber.

Jugnoo auto application was introduced on all major smartphone platforms such as ios, Android, and Windows.  Customers can also book Jugnoo rides using the company Jugnoo’s Facebook bot. The company also offered a Multilingual interface for drivers, with over eight languages other than English.

The other services offered by Jugnoo

  • Dodo deliveries – It enables sellers to deliver goods to their customers. Its deliveries are now renamed Jugnoo Delivery.

  • Flight map – It is a comprehensive routing solution that solves travel salesman and vehicle routing issues.

  • Fatafat – Hyperlocal deliveries of goods like food, grocery, and veggies. It was shut down in October 2015. The service was launched and relaunched again in Chandigarh in May 2016, after acquiring SabKuchFresh.

  • Menus – The company had launched Jugnoo meals but it was closed down in October 2015, and in 2017 it was re-launched as Menus. Jugnoo Menus has brought onboard famous restaurants and outlets like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, Baskin Robbins, Super Donut, Burger point, Rolla costa, Copper Chimney, Marky Momos and Dhaba.com

  • AskLocal – The AskLocal feature of the Jugnoo app will not only offer local information but is also a platform where users can ask questions, give recommendations, and share content.

Jugnoo – Business Model

Jugnoo has two different business models in both B2B and B2C segments. While it started operations in the B2C segment as an auto-rickshaw, Jugnoo also launched other B2C services like ‘Fatafat’ and ‘Menus’.

Jugnoo wiped out into the B2B segment with, with B2B logistics service, ‘Jugnoo Delivery’ and comprehensive routing solutions, ‘Flight Map’

Regarding the auto aggregator service,  costing for Jugnoo autos differs on a city basis. The strategy is to be the most affordable A-2-B transport option for the application users in that city.

The challenges that Jugnoo faces and how it plans to overcome them

The initial Jugnoo challenges faced by the company could be attributed to the demography of the tier 2 locations, which were the hesitance of the drivers to use the technology and break the clients’ mental barriers and introduce new plans.

The two other significant challenges in the otherwise journey were Jugnoo Fatatfat, which did home delivery of custom orders application from stores within the city to users.

It was launched in March 2015 with the plan of cashing the auto network, however, it was shut down after being operational for eight months straight. Also, the company had to close down Jugnoo Meal in October of the same year.

However, the company later re-launched Fatafat and launched Jugnoo menus. The team stands by the bumpy rides and says that they have chosen to be careful rather than keep investing in something which returns a loss for the company.

Jugnoo will need to sign up many of these operators to offer its customers a huge choice of vehicles.

Auto-rickshaw Aggregator will need to ensure that its drivers provide a good quality service to customers to keep them coming back. Jugnoo has introduced a number of initiatives such as training programs for drivers and a 24/7 customer support line.

Jugnoo’s impact on the Indian economy

Jugnoo has had a positive impact on the Indian economy; it has created thousands of jobs for auto-rickshaw drivers and has helped reduce traffic congestion in cities across India.

Jugnoo’s success is a testament to the boosted potential of the Indian startup ecosystem. The company’s story is an inspiration for other Indian entrepreneurs who are looking to make a difference in the world through their startup idea.

Jugnoo’s Future plans

The Jugnoo is currently operating in more than 50 cities across India. The company also plans to continue expanding its operations to cover more cities in India in the upcoming years.

The company also has a plan for domestic expansion, the company is also looking to enter new markets across the globe. The company has already launched its services app in Pakistan and is planning to expand into other countries in South Asia and Africa.

Jugnoo – Growth

  • The company has completed 19 Million rides to date.
  • Jugnoo has its footprints in over 120 Indian cities.
  • The company boasts of having more than 8 Million users.
  • It now has over 0.1 million drivers onboard.

Summary

Jugnoo has been one of the most successful startups in India in recent years. The company has disrupted the transportation sector in the country and is quickly expanding to other markets in India.

Jugnoo is an auto-rickshaw aggregator and taxi booking app founded in August 2014 by two of IITians Samar Singla and Chinmay Agarwal. The company is based in Chandigarh, India.

The company offers a much-needed solution to the last-mile transportation problem in India. By letting users book auto-rickshaws and taxis through a mobile app, Jugnoo is making it simple and more convenient for people to get around in Indian cities.

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