Oor Cabs startup gets ₹25 crore state funding

<p>This investment will fuel the addition of 300 e-autos across tier II cities like Trichy and Madurai within a year, boosting green mobility.</p> — This investment will fuel the addition of 300 e-autos across tier II cities like Trichy and Madurai within a year, boosting green mobility.

Oor Cabs, a Trichy-based electric vehicle (EV) startup operating e-autorickshaws for hire, has obtained `25 crore investment from Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC) under Tamil Nadu Green Climate Fund scheme. Using the state investment, it will add at least 300 e-autorickshaws within a year across the state to promote green mobility vehicles for public transport in several tier II cities including Trichy and Madurai.

The startup owns and operates 40 e-autos in Trichy city, employing drivers on monthly salary, including 16 women. Oor Cabs accepts rides through WhatsApp booking and a separate mobile application. The startup, offering up to 500 rides a day, had applied for state govt funding. Subsequently, during the TN climate summit in Chennai last week, it was selected and promised ₹25 crore investment from TNIFMC.

“For Trichy, we will add 100 e-autos before May 2026. Women auto drivers with a monthly salary starting from ₹16,500 will be recruited. Gradually, we will expand to Madurai, Tirunelveli, Karaikudi, and Thanjavur,” Maria Antony, founder and CEO, Oor Cabs, told TOI. With the existing 40 e-autos in Trichy, the startup could meet only 500 of the total 1,100 bookings received. The waiting time for a passenger at times crosses 15 minutes since the e-auto takes time to reach the pick-up point.

“We are working on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools to predict and distribute our fleet in different areas of the city based on demand, to reduce passengers’ waiting time. The demand is huge in tier II cities. For Trichy city alone, we may add 300 more e-autos in a phased manner,” Antony said. The startup will use a portion of the investment for setting up charging station infrastructure. Charging points are to be provided in three different areas in Trichy city. In the future, Oor Cabs plans solar-powered charging points to become net zero in emissions.