I want a ride-hailing app that treats drivers like saarthis - guides, not gig-slaves.

Definitely not building it myself. Just dreaming out loud.

act i - the ride

8:30 PM. Noida to Delhi. Peak traffic.

I’d just met my girlfriend and booked a Rapido bike home. The rider arrived - a young kid, early twenties, cocky energy. Within seconds, we were zip-zap-zooming through traffic. Jumping signals. Weaving between trucks. My helmet felt decorative. It was such a rush.

I tried yelling “bhaiya dheere chalao” (please drive safely) but he either didn’t hear or didn’t care.

At every red light we skipped, I thought: this would be such a poor way to die.

We made it. Before I could say anything, he turned around and said:

“Bhaiyya, main chhapriyon ki tarah nahin chalata. Sambhaal ke chalata hun.” (Brother, I don’t drive like roadside riffraff. I drive carefully.)

I chuckled. Gave him ₹50 extra - a sadaqah1 for dropping me safely. Not that he tried to.

I didn’t report him. He was a kid. But the ride got me thinking.

act ii - pet paalna hai

I take Uber and Rapido weekly. And I talk to drivers. A lot.

One conversation stuck.

Som Bahadur Singh. 43 years old. From Nepal. Worked in Chennai, then Dubai - hated the sheikhs - then Delhi. Lives in Kalu Sarai with his wife, son, and daughter. Drives a Swift Dzire he bought on kisht (EMI).

We were going from IIT Delhi to Jasola. Late night. My friend Aditya had just dropped me off at the campus gate.

Som told me about lockdown. How the roads emptied and so did his wallet. How there had also been a boom phase after that - prices were good, rides were plenty. How that’s over now.

“Ab toh loot-te hain humko,” he said. They loot us now.

No insurance. No sick leave. No profit sharing. They call them “driver partners” but cut them out of everything. The drivers live on tips. It’s indenture-labour with an app skin.2

“Pet paalna hai,” Som shrugged. Have to feed the family.

इंसान हैं हम, ग़ुलाम नहीं। We are humans, not slaves.

Here’s what’s funny: the people riding in Uber cabs probably work at Uber. Or Ola. Or some tech company enabling the same extraction. We build the systems that exploit, then tip ₹20 to feel better about it.3

act iii - saarthi

In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna was Arjuna’s saarthi - his charioteer.

But Krishna didn’t just drive. He refused to fight. He gave counsel. He guided Arjuna through the war - literally and metaphorically. He was an equal, not a servant. A companion, not a contractor.

That’s what drivers should feel like. Saarthis.

Not gig-workers-with-no-benefits. Not “partners” in name only. Not people who risk their lives for ₹8/km while the app takes 25%.

What would a ride-hailing app look like if it treated drivers as saarthis?

  • Fair wages. Not “dynamic pricing” that squeezes drivers when demand dips.
  • Profit sharing. If the company does well, so do the drivers.
  • Insurance. Sick leave. Dignity.
  • A cooperative model? Drivers as owners, not contractors. Sounds utopian. But cooperatives exist.4
  • Responsibility built in. Maybe religious/cultural framing helps? “You are a saarthi. Drive like one.” I don’t know. Worth exploring.

Some profit is fine. Enough to sustain the business, pay employees, keep the lights on. But no one should become a billionaire by exploiting others.

end

I’m not building this. I can’t - it needs buy-in from regulators, drivers, investors, and a hundred other stakeholders I don’t have access to.

But there’s hope.

Karnataka is considering a differential levy on aggregators to fund gig workers’ welfare. Rajasthan’s High Court recently directed ride-hailing platforms to ensure 15% women drivers. Small steps. But steps.

Someone who feels more strongly about this should give it more thought. All of us should.

We should regulate. We should advocate. We should, at minimum, see the Som Bahadur Singhs behind the wheel.

Saarthi (सारथी) means charioteer.

The one who guides you. The one who drives responsibly. The one who’s your equal on the journey.

Not a servant. Not a slave. Not a “partner” in scare quotes.

A saarthi.

  1. An Islamic concept of voluntary charity. I’d rather give cash than rate someone poorly on an app that already exploits them. ↩

  2. Watch The Free Market - a documentary on the gig economy in India. It’s stayed with me. I’ve asked many drivers to watch it too. ↩

  3. I include myself here. I work at an HFT - we front-run retail investors for a living. Glass houses, stones, etc. ↩

  4. See also: driver cooperatives trying to compete with Uber in NYC. ↩