The buggy ride which was introduced by Kudumbashree Mission entrepreneurs on the renovated S.M. Street and later dropped following poor public response, is likely to be reintroduced in another suitable tourism spot in the city within a couple of months. Sarovaram biopark is one of the ideal locations proposed by the entrepreneurs, where the service will be introduced after securing legal clearance from the Destination Management Committee.
Efforts are also on to explore the latest car-wrap advertising and outdoor publicity opportunities with the support of interested private and public limited companies to make the ride a more profitable business. An application carrying the suggestions has been submitted to the chairman of the Sarovaram biopark destination management committee. It will also be submitted to District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao for his support as the chairman of the District Tourism Promotion Council.
“We decided to consider another convenient location for the ride as the response from S.M. Street was very poor. The entrepreneurs were not even able to meet their personal expenses from the buggy venture,” said District Kudumbasree Mission coordinator Kavitha Sathyan. She said the women entrepreneurs who obtained a loan for the project had to use a portion of the innovation fund they got from the Kudumbashree Mission to manage the financial crisis and repay the loan.
Public support
Ms. Sathyan said the daily collection from S.M. Street was below ₹100 for a buggy and it was difficult to continue the operation without public support. “Though the people were found very much interested in street rides in the initial days, their number declined to a meagre figure within just one month,” she rued.
It was on December, 2017, that the buggy ride named ‘Madhura Savari’ was launched on S.M. Street. The Kudumbashree workers had obtained a loan of ₹11 lakh to purchase the two buggies and offer the service to shoppers on the street.
The main intention was to support the easy movement of differently-abled and elderly citizens. Transgender persons were also expected to join the project on completion of its trial run on the renovated street.
