No more fraud auto fares: Thanks to ex-Infy techies

By siliconindia news bureau Bangalore: In a city like Bangalore several commuters depend on the autorickshaws to travel from one place to another, but not always do they get to pay the correct fare as sometimes they are demanded extra money by the drivers. Now with a technology developed by four former Infosys engineers - Sudarshan H.S., Pavaman Athani, Sairam Rajamani and Rahul R.S., a commuter can verify the fares demanded by the drivers with an automatic SMS telling what they should be paying for the distance travelled. Using this service called 'Latlong' people can text message the area from which they start their journey with their destination, to receive an instant message on the fare they must pay, reports Deccan Chronicle. "Latlong provides information on the approximate autorickshaw fare and the distance in kilometers. This allows the user to check the exact distance travelled and confirm if the meter reading is accurate. The service has been a hit. We have received nearly 50,000 SMSes so far," says Sudarshan, CEO of Onze, the firm which has come out with the concept. So successful has been the service that the Onze is now looking at launching Latlong in other cities as well. "We will be launching the service in Chennai soon," says Sudarshan. For using this service the commuters need to send their message to 9008890088.