eChai Showcase - Ability On Wheels - India's first driving school for physically challenged
Harish Kumar is a Specially Abled Person without any disability of Attitude.
Harish was born with absence of right limb below elbow joint. Did his schooling from a reputed school in Dehradun. Went ahead to do M SC from IIT – Roorkee & M Tech from IIT Delhi. Worked in Telecom Sector for ~ 17 years in which duration he rose from an Engineer to a General Manager through sheer hard work & determination. Without any formal training in any driving school he mastered the art of driving a car WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS in the year 1998.
Bought his first car (Hyundai Santro) in 1999 & second car (Tata Safari) in 2007. In 2012 he left his flourishing career in Telecom to undertake his passion for driving & to do something for the people with disabilities. He created a new National Record 2013 by being the first Physically Challenged person in the country to successfully complete a solo All India Driving Expedition covering 15,963 kms across 28 states & 7 union territories in 29 days 6 hours & 20 minutes. The following year he undertook & successfully completed the Golden Quadrilateral Expedition (Ahmedabad – Delhi – Kolkatta – Chennai – Mumbai – Ahmedabad) covering ~ 6,000 kms in 129 hours.
Harish Launched Ability on Wheels on 3rd December 2013 (World Disability Day) with an aim of promoting & providing mobility services to physically challenged people
Here is a candid and insightful conversation - an eChai with Harish Kumar.
How did you come up with the idea of 'Ability on Wheels' ?
When I created a National Record in Limca book of people got to know how a differently abled man had beat all odds and done better than people who did not have any restrictions.
Differently-abled people started reaching out to me and expressed their woes about how tough it was for them to even get a license from the RTO and how there were no driving schools that accommodated them. “I’d gone through so much trouble to get my license in 1999, I had to convince so many people, and I knew how tough it was and continues to be. Differently abled people face tremendous hurdles in mobility. Since I have myself experienced these hurdles I decided to work for the cause.” And that led me to open a driving school for the differently abled people.
What problem are you solving?
Physically challenged people have to first buy a car, get it modified, get an approval from the RTO, and only then are they provided with a learner’s license. This deprives them of the right to first learn and then buy a car. Also since there is no such driving school they have to learn on their own. Due to this big stumbling block many physically challenged people hesitate in buying a car and hence are deprived of the freedom and independence. With Ability on Wheels, this problem is now taken care of.
Now that the entry barrier for acquiring this skill (buying a car) has been removed people who are economically weak can look forward to driving skill as a mean of employment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WH9OHcDG-M
NDTV 24 x 7 18 Aug 15
How does it work?
- We provide end to end driving skill acquisition to physically challenged people as follows:
- We check the driving feasibility as per the nature of disability
- We guide them on the process of getting a license
- We arrange a learning license for them
- We impart driving training on customized cars
- We help them buy a car & get it customized / modified from approved vendors
- We support them in getting Tax benefits
What is your target market?
Target market is physically challenged people with restriction in bones, limbs or muscles (people who can drive) irrespective of whether they are rich or poor
What is your competitive advantage?
This is a unique concept & first of its kind in the country. Also its not merely a driving school but it’s a end to end self mobility solution provider with an aim of generating employment too.
How much time did it take you from conceptualization of 'Ability on Wheels' to actually launching it in the market ?
9 months
Tell us more about your team?
A brief intro about myself :
I wish to introduce myself as a differently abled person with a passion for driving. In 2012 I became the first physically challenged person in the country to successfully complete an All India Driving Expedition thereby creating a new National Records in Limca Book of Records. As on date I have on my name 2 National Records in Limca Book of Records. I did my schooling from a reputed school in Dehradun & went on to do my Masters in Science from IIT Roorkee in 1993 & Masters in Technology from IIT Delhi in 1995.
After working in Telecom Sector for ~ 20 years I quit the corporate world last year & decided to work on providing mobility services & solutions to the specially abled people of the country. For this purpose I’ve floated an NGO Ability on Wheels Charitable Trust (www.abilityonwheels.org).
DEBANSHU BANERJEE IS A CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT (CMC-GLOBAL) from THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING INSTITUTES. He has a rich experience in Sales & is currently handling Strategic Management & consulting at Renaissance Strategic Consultants
DARSHITA SHAH – FOUNDER DARSHU CARE PUBLIC CHARITABLE TRUST. Darshita babubhai shah is a physically challenged woman having 19 Educational degrees with 5 masters degrees. She is an activist, a poet and most importantly a social worker. She has received 15 different awards including president Award 2013 , Woman pride Award 2015,Best social worker award 2015 – Governor of gujarat , Gujarat state award 2007 , IIM Ahmedabad Award & many more. She is an officer on special duty in Apang Manav Mandal , Managing Trustee of Dashu care public charitable trust , President in Rotary Club of Ahmedabad South , Vice president of Lions Club of Vastrapur Ahmedabad ,
What is your technology stack?
Customized cars & latest updates on advancements in mobility solutions
How do you plan to market your product? What are your customer acquisition strategies?
This initiative is a unique skill development exercise which will not only boost the confidence & self esteem of physically challenged people but also lead to their being more acceptable & employable to the society.
We are doing social media marketing as well as approaching corporates & like minded non profit organizations.
Showcasing the spirit of such people in various events will help us in customer acquisition. We plan to form an online community of such people who have a desire to learn driving.
Already with our support 2 people (in Dehradun & Patna) have received driving licenses for which they have been struggling since years
What is the revenue model of 'venture' ?
An inflow of 10 students / month is sufficient to take care of the operating expenses. We expect the number of students to be 20 – 25 in the next 3 months which will ensure sufficient RoI.
We also plan to scale up the revenues by providing consultancy, creating employment opportunities & integrating this activity with bigger plans
What do you want to achieve from this? What is your larger goal or vision?
Inclusion of 'specially abled' in the community stream by empowering, facilitating and training them to drive vehicles.
Creating a skilled, motivated & confident task force of physically challenged people who can do much more than they had ever thought of
Larger Goal :
Change the ways of mobility in the lives of differently abled people.
To set up an auto / taxi service run exclusively by physically challenged people
What sort of support and feedback are you looking from the community?
- Spread the message
- Social Media marketing support
- Online community development support
- Legal support with regard to equal rights for people with disabilities
- Financial support in turning this initiative to a state vide & then a nation vide movement
