ARDU slams Namma Yatri, says it developed ride-hailing app

Bengaluru: The Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union (ARDU), which was instrumental in launching Namma Yatri last year, has slammed the ride-hailing app. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the ARDU's general secretary D Rudramurthy criticised Namma Yatri's claim that it was "union-agnostic". 

"The ARDU fully supported the creation of Namma Yatri. It was an app developed by ARDU leaders Rudramurthy and (P L) Pattabhirama for Bengaluru's drivers and commuters. The unity of the community was the reason for Namma Yatri's success," the statement said. 

Rudramurthy said corporate companies become successful only because of the masses and criticised Namma Yatri's CEO Vimal Kumar. 

The ride-hailing firm has been in the news after it tried to distance itself from the ARDU, which claims to represent 32,000 drivers in the city. Namma Yatri was launched in November 2022 as the drivers' own app and has a 25% market share of the app-based auto rides in Bengaluru. 

Namma Yatri is owned by the fintech company Juspay, which originally provided map and cloud services under the Software as a Service (Saas) model. While Namma Yatri has acknowledged the role played by Rudramurthy and Pattabhiram, it says it represents the entire driver community. 

"Namma Yatri collaborates with over one lakh drivers, the majority of whom are not affiliated with any union. We prioritise community welfare over individual union interests," it said, adding it was formalising an open governance model to represent the interests of both drivers and citizens.