The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) participated in a prestigious event on 13th September 2017 to mark the public launching of the “Yatrik” platform - the first ever IOT-based taxi discovery solution for the yellow and blue-white taxis of Kolkata. The event was organized by the Transport Department, Government of West Bengal in ParibahanBhaban – II, EM Bypass – Rashbehari Connector, Kolkata and was graced by the Hon’ble Minister-in-Charge, Transport, Government of West Bengal, Shri Suvendu Adhikari and the Hon’ble Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Transport, Government of West Bengal, Shri Alapan Bandhopadhyay, IAS, along with other Senior Officials from the Department of Transport, Government of West Bengal. MD& CEO of Bandhan Bank and President of BCC&I, Shri C S Ghosh, along with members of BCC&I and other stakeholders was also amongst the main attendees.

The Yatrik initiative aims at providing a simple and inexpensive IOT-based platform to the yellow and blue-white taxis of Kolkata which helps in improving the taxi discovery experience for passengers. BCC&I in association with KPMG had conceptualized the “Yatrik” model in March 2016 and had subsequently developed the platform in collaboration with several technology consulting and implementation platforms. Following a successful test run of the platform on 170 taxis in the city, the platform was launched on 13th September 2017 for the public.

The launch segment commenced with a welcome address from the Hon’ble Additional Chief Secretary, Shri Alapan Bandhopadhyay, IAS, who provided the audience with a comprehensive understanding of how the Yatrik platform operates. This was followed by an address from the President of BCC&I, Shri C.S. Ghosh who elaborated on Shri Bandhopadhyay’s address to provide further insights on the utility of the platform. Finally, the Hon’ble Minister, Shri Suvendu Adhikari demonstrated the process of hailing a taxi by initiating the first booking request through the Yatrik app whereby the booking was successfully accepted by one of the 20 taxis in the near vicinity. The Yatrik app was thereafter officially launched and made available for the public on Android Play Store.

The event was attended by representatives of all leading media houses. The platform launch was followed by an interactive session between the media and the Yatrik team where detailed information on the Yatrik initiative was shared with the press.

The Yatrik team is currently working on full scale expansion of the platform across the gamut of yellow and blue-white taxis of Kolkata.