03 January,2021 08:14 AM IST | Mumbai | Anju Maskeri
(Centre) Sagar Joshi with his team. He says the challenge is handling late night calls and providing prompt service any time of the day
In 2015, while on a road trip to Shirdi with his family, an automobile engineer Sagar Joshi found himself in a tight spot when the car broke down. It was in the wee hours, and he had neither any repair tools at hand nor access to an authorised service centre. "I phoned the centre and they said no mechanic was available as it was beyond their stipulated work hours. I received no help." The incident, however, set him thinking. Having worked at some of the top automobile companies in the country, he began collating data of various local garages and mechanics from fringe areas of Mumbai. "But then, I thought, why stop at local garages and mechanics? So, I gathered data from all across the country." He aggregated 18,000 unorganised workshops and mechanics.
The result is AUTO i CARE, a specially curated mobile app for end-to-end roadside assistance. The app provides real-time tracking of the inbound support vehicle - similar to popular ride-hailing apps - with an estimated time of arrival, automated SMS status updates, and tow driver contact information. The bootstrapped startup promises to address roadside assistance concerns within 20 to 30 minutes and provide 24x7 vehicle breakdown assistance nationally. Currently, 48,000 local garages across India are registered with them. Operating the app is fairly simple. After you install it and fill in basic information, you can opt for the services you want, such as planned car service, towing facilities, tyre replacement or fuel addition. If you are on the highway and your vehicle breaks down, the app shows you the nearest garages in the area.
Incidentally, the global market size of roadside assistance is expected to reach $29 billion by 2026 and is growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 3.8 per cent.
All through the lockdown, Joshi and his team were inundated with phone calls and SOSes. "We didn't take a single day off since essential services vehicles such as ambulances, police vans and cars, vehicles of doctors required immediate car repair service." Due to the nature of their service, they even sought a special letter from the state and central governments, which enabled them to continue providing this facility without restriction. In March alone, they addressed nearly 1,200 complaints from various parts of the country. "Once, the fan belt of a police van, which was patrolling a red zone in Dombivli, broke down and the cops were stranded.
The police called us from the app and we were able to get it fixed. Another time, there was a surgeon who had to reach hospital for an emergency surgery and her car wouldn't start. This was actually on the first day of the lockdown. We helped her with the battery in the car and she could reach the hospital in time."
The team had a particularly harrowing time when Maharashtra and southern states were hit by storms this year. He says getting assistance to stranded vehicles in flooded areas wasn't easy. Another major issue was the language barrier, especially in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. "Initially, it was very hard to understand the problem, as the complainants could not speak or understand Hindi." The team is trying plans to bring on board South Indian language speakers to address this issue.
According to Joshi, highways are the most accident-prone spots. In Maharashtra, common accident spots are Lonavala-Khalapur toll, Sion-Panvel Highway, Virar-Vasai Highway, Talegaon-Kolhapur Highway. The reason for accidents range from losing control over the vehicle and tyre burst, to avoiding hitting an animal or another vehicle. On the Christmas weekend, they received around 5,500 calls for various issues, including battery jumpstart, tyre puncture repair and towing.
Joshi says he's happy that every day through the app at least 100 to 125 local garages get job opportunities in various parts of the country. "These are unorganised units, so we want to bring them on board and give them legitimacy." Next up, they are planning to launch dedicated services for bikes and heavy vehicles.
5,500
Number of calls the app got on the Christmas weekend for issues ranging from battery jumpstart to tyre puncture repair and towing
