Commuting with Shuttle
Transportation till date remains one of the biggest issues the country faces, especially in Dhaka city where being stuck in traffic for hours is common. For women, it is even harder to find the right vehicle given the fact that public transport is not always deemed safe.Colors’ Nazifa Tasnim speaks to Jawwad Jahangir, the co-founder of Shuttle, to know more about this new transport system designed to make commuting easier for women.
Shuttle is an app-based pick and drops service that aims to provide safe, comfortable and affordable transportation for women. The company started its journey in July 2018 and within a very short period, it has become the main vehicle for many women around the city, especially students and office workers, who have to travel far on a daily basis.
The users can book their ride through the app or call on their hotline number and their vehicles will pick them up from any of the pickup points provided and drop them off at their booked destinations. The service differs from other ride-sharing apps in the sense that you are travelling with other co-passengers and it has specific time schedules and routes.
Three passionate and hardworking people behind this initiative are Reyasat Chowdhury, Jawwad Jahangir, and Shah Sufian Mahmud Chowdhury. With the goal to make changes and a passion for solving problems, this trio dedicated their skills and experience to their start-up. When asked about how Shuttle came into being, Jawwad Jahangir says, “I always believed every business is the solution to a problem. In the Bangladesh context, the biggest problem is transportation especially in Dhaka, so we started researching it and found that this is a more serious problem for women.”
He refers to a study by the BRAC which shows, 94% of women commuting in public transport in Bangladesh have experienced sexual harassment in verbal, physical and other forms. Thus, he adds, women often hesitate to travel alone and avoid working in places far from home.
On the other hand, he says, “using ride-sharing services, especially car, is too expensive for everyday commute and most women also do not feel comfortable using ride-sharing bikes. Shuttle was established to solve this problem and provide a comfortable and safe medium of transportation.”
Shuttle has a team of 50 people working full time and they operate in eight different routes across Dhaka city.
“We try to ensure the quality of the service and make travelling convenient for our users. There are trip managers who ensure every trip is safely completed. Apart from that, there is a Shuttle community. This community holds a special place in our hearts as it keeps us connected to our users. The users can share their experiences with us and we try to address every difficulty they face, even the top management is directly involved,” says Jawwad Jahangir.
“It has been a learning curve for us from day one since Reyasat and I had no prior experience with this sector. During our first phase of customer acquisition, we started with university students. There were initially trust issues; for instance, we would talk to a customer and then their guardians would call us back asking who we were and was it happening. So, we offered a few free rides to the customers along with the guardians.”
The co-founder also shares with Colors that they have planned to cover the whole of Dhaka city as soon as possible. “Our goal is to ensure that no woman in Bangladesh has to worry about their safety in transportation anymore and our entire team is working every day towards that goal.”
