Mumbai, Oct. 16 -- Moving Tech Innovations plans to help European cities build open, sovereign mobility infrastructure using an India-developed model.

A decade and a half after app-based cab aggregation began taking root in India, a Bengaluru-based company is preparing to bring an alternative mobility model to Europe. Moving Tech Innovations (MTI), the parent of Namma Yatri, Chennai One, Yatri Sathi, Kerala Savaari, Odisha Yatri and Bharat Taxi, is seeking to help European cities build open mobility infrastructure that gives cities greater control over data and policy while allowing transport operators to retain their independence.

Unlike conventional ride-hailing platforms that typically deduct a commission from drivers' fares, MTI's subscription-led model allows drivers to retain 100 per cent of the collection. The company says its platforms have facilitated nearly 200 million trips in India, positioning its model as an alternative to conventional commission-based aggregator services.

MTI outlined its European ambitions at the World Economic Forum's Urban Transformation Summit in Geneva this week. The company was invited to discuss how cities can adapt technology to local requirements while benefiting from scale, and why partnerships with local stakeholders are important to making such models work.

"For decades, many of the big ideas in urban mobility came to India from elsewhere. Now ideas built with Bengaluru's auto drivers, Chennai's commuters and Gujarat Driver Cooperatives are finding global relevance," said Shanmugavel Mani Subbiah, Co-founder of MTI.

The company has acquired Netherlands-based Automicle to establish a European base and partnered with Dutch foundation Stichting FINOMAD to advance open public mobility in Europe.

MTI plans to collaborate with major European cities to develop what it describes as open, sovereign mobility infrastructure. The proposed model would allow cities to retain control over mobility policies and data, while enabling operators to remain independent of any single platform provider.

Subbiah and Magizhan Selvan spun MTI out of fintech firm Juspay to build open, zero-commission mobility platforms. It was formally incorporated in November 2023 in Bengaluru.

Community, Government and Business

MTI's strategy centres on integrating three elements of the local ecosystem: samaaj (community), sarkaar (government) and bazaar (business). The company has worked with city administrations, drivers and local communities across India to develop mobility platforms adapted to local needs.

"We are not importing an Indian app. We are bringing what MTI started in India: open infrastructure, community participation, and technology at population scale. We are building with cities and local ecosystems shaped by local needs and priorities," stated Mohit Mishra, Managing Director of Europe, MTI.

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) offers a parallel for the model MTI wants to extend to mobility. As part of the country's digital public infrastructure, UPI enables interoperable digital payments across participating banks and applications, demonstrating how shared technology standards can support services at national scale.

MTI believes a similar approach can be applied to transport, with common digital infrastructure enabling multiple service providers to operate across a network rather than depend on a single proprietary platform. In principle, this could give cities greater flexibility in integrating public transport, taxis, autorickshaws and other mobility services.

Open Standards Technology

MTI's mobility platforms use the Beckn Protocol, an open-source technical standard designed to enable interoperable transactions across digital platforms. Namma Yatri is also connected to India's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), supporting interoperability between participating applications and service providers.

The company's subscription-led model allows drivers to receive the full fare without a commission being deducted by the platform, although drivers may pay subscription fees to access the service. MTI's broader proposition is that open standards and shared infrastructure can reduce dependence on individual intermediaries while allowing cities and local operators to shape how mobility services are delivered.

Its European expansion will test whether a model developed around India's diverse urban transport systems can be adapted to cities with different regulatory frameworks, transport networks and governance structures.

- Manish Pant

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Infrastructure Today.