Tootle by Zapp 4+

Returning from Europe to visit my home country after 7 years, the most frustrating thing was the public transport. Buses, safa tampo and micro were too crowded, so it was out of question. I had to rely on taxis. So i downloaded a taxi app called ‘eddy cab’ expecting it to be like UBER and LYFT but after a couple of disappointing journeys i decided not to use it. The major reason being availability of vehicles nearby. I was left with the other option that is ‘Tootle’ . At first i was reluctant to share a ride on a motorbike, because that was an alien idea to me. But i started loving it unexpectedly. The rides were quicker, Ridders were friendly , it was lot cheaper then taxis and many more. Now i have used tootle service for more than 30 times and has recommended it to more than 5 friends who are also using it on regular basis. In spite of all the good aspects it has plenty of room for improvement. As a well wisher i’ll point out few suggestions that might help for the betterment of the company.

1) Rider tracking must be made mandatory. All riders must be asked to turn the mobile data ON, because it’s frustrating when drivers don’t answer the call and we have no idea that how longer will it take. If cost is the issue, riders must be remunerated .

2) Riders must be trained to use google maps . Most of the riders spend unnecessary time searching the commuters just because they simply can’t use google map. Telling them the location multiple times is also frustrating.

3) Riders must be trained with some ethics too. I have experienced some riders who asked extra money because road wasn’t easy. Some riders has also asked me to come to the ‘Chowk’ instead of coming to the given location. This might be a big turn down to new users

4) User acquisition can be made more effective by giving one free ride to the new user and one free ride to the existing user who recommend it to their family and friends. Just like UBER and LYFT etc . Rs 200 free welcome balance is too much, it can be split into free ride worth RS100 each. So that existing user will promote the app on social media, friends circle, chat groups etc for their own benefit.

5) At last i would also like to suggest few minor changes. Make riders mandatory to make a call to commuters after accepting the ride request, which clears the communion gap or at least make rider’s number available to the users after their request gets accepted, i don’t see rider’s numbers in many case.

Mention bike name and color after the ride gets accepted so that it’s easy to spot the bike, which will save rider’s phone call in many situations

Extend operating hours to 10 pm within central city radius if possible, coz ktm is still awake until 10.

Add one more option in ‘reason for canceling’ . Sometime riders call the users and ask to cancel the ride because they are far away.

P.s. Despite of few shortcoming , tootle is a wonderful service and i hope it does tremendously well and expand to more cities.

I ordered a tootle but no-one responded. Ten minutes later, I get a call from someone asking me if i need tootle. I said yes and told him my location. I told him to come fast and it was urgent. He was only a mile away. I waited for ten minutes but still nobody came. So i called him again and he said he was still coming. I stressed again about my urgency and he told me to go by myself and cut the phone. Very bad experience. I missed my bus and almost missed my exam too. I am deleting the app. It is very unreliable. Not recommended. Very unprofessional.

Only used it once but recommended it to everyone I know I’m Kathmandu, great app for getting around cheaper and riding in style