Ritika Jha Palial
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 25
City residents need not walk across the streets to spot a cycle-rickshaw. They just have to dial the operators’ number and the rickshaw will be at their doorsteps within minutes.
In perhaps first of its kind initiative in the city, a group of volunteers have come up with a facility that enables the residents to call up rickshaw operators on their cellphones.
The phone numbers of rickshaw operators (sector wise), for ‘Dial-a-rikshaw’ service are available on the website www.chandigarh.ecocabs.org http://www.chandigarh.ecocabs.org.
And if you are satisfied with the service, you can recommend the rickshaw operator’s name to other residents by uploading his name and phone number online. A separate link on the website enables residents to recommend the name of rickshaw operators.
The website has a database of 110 rickshaw operators who are spread across 12 sectors. The service is available in Sectors 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 56.
Sample this: If a resident of Sector 44 hires a rickshaw, he can take the details of the operator and upload the same on the sub-section of Sector 44 on the website.
A team of 12 volunteers from different walks of life joined hands to form a non-profit association and developed the concept of ‘Dial-a-rickshaw ecocabs’. The service was launched today in collaboration with the UT Administration, Municipal Corporation and the New Kranti Cycle Rickshaw Union.
“In case of any complaint against the rickshaw operator, the residents can access the contact number of the sector mentor from the website,” said one of the volunteers, Navdeep Asija, the founder of ‘Dial-a-rickshaw ecocabs’.
There are over 25,000 cycle-rickshaws in the city that ferry nearly 5 lakh residents daily.
