Farewell, in an urban environment marked by traffic clogups and unsafe transport conditions, new rays of hope appear for a new set of female travelers. Bengaluru will introduce ‘Sakhi’ which is exclusively a women's auto-rickshaw service on 14th February 2026. The effort, to offer a sort of “safe haven on wheels,” arrives as a Valentine’s Day treat for the city’s women, offering a transit experience grounded in trust, transparency and compassion.
The Vision Behind Sakhi
The platform is the imagination of 24-year-old entrepreneur Krishnavi Parekh, who came to Bengaluru last year. Her inspiration came from being subject to “commuter anxiety” the familiar nag for many women when walking late on public transport or being called up from nowhere to meet drivers. Acknowledging that this was a systemic problem rather than an isolated one, Parekh imagined a ride-hailing model in which women make up both drivers and passengers, which would provide an unbreakable environment based entirely on the safety aspect.
Making Safety and Fair Pricing a Priority
Sakhi’s No Surge Pricing Policy - what sets Sakhi apart from the most dominant tech aggregators. In a city with often skyrocketing fares during peak times or rainy weather, Sakhi provides a transparent and stable tariff – ₹50 for the first 2 kilometers and ₹20 for every kilometer thereafter. This means that safety is not charged exorbitantly.
The service is currently staffed by 50 professional female drivers aged between 21 and 40. It is not just Bengaluru's intricate lanes through which these drivers can navigate, they also possess special knowledge of communications and customer service that enables them to make each trip a friendly experience. During a successful pilot in January this service completed 17 trips in one week; its reviews of high scores include customers who said their stress level was dropped instantly for the moment when they encountered a woman driver.
Empowerment and Future Growth
Sakhi is as much about driver empowerment as it is about the safety of passengers. Presently, the platform operates on a model where 100% of the earnings go directly to the drivers. Parekh also plans to keep the whole ecosystem inclusive, with trans-women drivers onboard, and 24/7 operations if demand keeps increasing.
Although a dedicated mobile application is still under development, service is already an option to take advantage of via a web app (ride.sakhiwomen.in) and an app-based booking system based on WhatsApp (+91 63619 33364). As Bengaluru embarks on this new era of women-friendly mobility in search of gender neutrality, Sakhi is living proof that indigenous innovation at the local level can solve old urban problems.
