- Three Wheels United
How you can help us impact lives
Three Wheels United Foundation is 80G certified, all the more reason to donate and help us improve the lives of auto-rickshaw drivers and their families!
What does Three Wheels United Foundation do?
TWUF's mission is to improve the livelihood of auto-rickshaw drivers and their families
Check out some of our work below:
COVID-19 Safe Auto Rickshaws
Our most recent initiative is designed to create a safe driving experience for auto rickshaws driver and passengers. This helps prevent the spread of COVID-19, allows drivers to get back to work, and enables commuting in the city.
Mobile Application: TWU has developed a mobile application to provide training and information to drivers on safely operating their vehicle.
Mobile payment vouchers: We provide drivers with vouchers to download mobile payment services, where they also receive cashback, allowing drivers to go cashless.
Free kits: Once a driver has completed safety training they can receive a free safety kit that includes masks, hand sanitizer, soap, vehicle disinfectant, cleaning cloth, and transparent screen between drivers and passengers.
We are seeking more donors to help us provide free safety kits to drivers!
Community Building
TWUF conducts community building activities that improves the livelihood of drivers by building a financial and social safety net, bringing dignity to their work, and giving them a voice.
Driver Groups:
We help create local community groups, and assist in facilitating regular meetings. These groups offer many benefits to drivers including providing small hand-loans if a driver falls on a hard time. This prevents drivers from taking exploitative loans from money lenders.
Co-operative Society:
TWUF has assisted in the establishing a formally registered co-operative society for drivers. This co-op now operates independently of TWUF. This group can provide loans to its members, conducts lobbying activities and other beneficial activities for the auto rickshaw community.
Driver Training and Branding
TWUF provides trainings to drivers that help them improve their financial health and their income generation.
We provide financial literacy trainings and extra support in accessing loans for purchasing a vehicle.
We provide customer service training and then have drivers sign a "code of conduct". These drivers are then branded with a "code of conduct" board in their vehicles.
Research & Pilots
TWUF conducts research projects and pilots to create the most ideal environment for drivers to thrive, and for TWU to be able to continue to support their growth.
Research:
Example research includes an in-depth study on the economic viability of various charging models for electric auto-rickshaws. We found that electric auto rickshaws are more profitable and have a lower total cost of ownership compared to fuel-operated vehicles. This has lead TWU NBFC to narrow its financing products to only electric auto-rickshaws.
Pilots:
We have also conducted pilots to test various scenarios that can lead to a more sustainable auto rickshaw system, and inevitably improve the income and lives of drivers. We conducted pilots with the Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore metros utilizing auto-rickshaws as last-mile operators. These tested various models including fixed-route feeders and app-based ride hailing.
If you would like to donate to Three Wheels United Foundation to support any or all of our initiatives please reach out!
Email: rosemary@threewheelsunited.com