Online ride booking in Pakistan: how it works with JaldiGO

What an online ride app actually does

A ride app connects you with a nearby driver who has a free vehicle. You set where you are and where you are going, the app works out the price, and a driver accepts the trip and comes to you. No standing at a stop, no waiting for a rickshaw to fill up, no phoning around for someone who might be free.

With JaldiGO the whole thing happens in one Android app. You choose your pickup by typing a place name, in English or Roman Urdu, or by dropping a pin on your exact door. You choose a destination the same way, and then you choose a vehicle.

Choose the vehicle that fits the trip

Not every trip needs a car. JaldiGO shows every vehicle type running near you on one screen, each with its own fixed fare, so you can compare before you book:

• Bike: one passenger, the quickest way through traffic and usually the cheapest.
• ChingChi: up to six people with shade overhead, and the whole vehicle is yours, not a shared seat.
• Economy car: four seats, no AC, an everyday price for errands with the family.
• Comfort: a roomier sedan with AC for a wedding, guests or an important appointment.
• Family van: seven seats with AC, so everyone travels together.

The price is fixed before you book

This is the part people care about most. JaldiGO works out each fare from the real road distance of your trip, rounds it to the nearest ten rupees, and shows it before you confirm. The number you see is the number you pay. It does not go up because of traffic, a detour or a driver asking for more at the end. Read more in why the price you see is the price you pay.

How a driver is found

When you book, your request goes to every available driver near you at the same time, not one after another. The first to accept gets the ride, and you can watch them come to you on the map. If nobody is close enough, the app widens the search on its own over the next few minutes, and if a different vehicle type has a driver free, it offers you that instead at its own fixed price.

Paying for the ride

You pay your driver directly, in cash, at the end of the ride. There is no card to add, no wallet to top up and no online payment to set up, which is why JaldiGO works for people who do not use banking apps. More in paying cash for a ride.

Where JaldiGO works

JaldiGO works anywhere in Pakistan: open the app in any city and drivers near you get your request. It started in Kharian, and today its busiest area runs around Kharian, Gujrat, Jhelum, Lalamusa, Dinga, Sarai Alamgir and Bhimber. Drivers from other cities are signing up every week; see JaldiGO across Pakistan.

JaldiGO is a Pakistani app, designed and built by the software company Teebtek.

Common questions

Is JaldiGO available in my city?

JaldiGO works anywhere in Pakistan. The most drivers are around Kharian, Gujrat and Jhelum today, and drivers are joining in other cities all the time.

Do I need a bank card?

No. You pay your driver in cash at the end of the ride.

Can the fare change after I book?

No. The fare shown before you confirm is the fare you pay.

Keep reading

• How to book your first ride on JaldiGO, step by step

  A step-by-step guide to booking your first JaldiGO ride: install the app, set pickup and drop, pick a vehicle, see the fixed fare and meet your driver.

• Bike, ChingChi, car or family van: which ride should you book?

  A simple guide to choosing between a bike, ChingChi, economy car, comfort sedan and family van in Pakistan, by passengers, luggage, weather and budget.

• Fixed fare, no bargaining: why the price you see is the price you pay

  How JaldiGO sets a fixed fare from real road distance before you book, why it never changes during the ride, and why that ends bargaining with drivers.