Tootle vs Pathao: Which one to choose?

Tootle and Pathao are two different companies with a common objective- facilitating* cheaper and faster way of transportation. Since both of them seem to be quite similar, it might be a tough task to decide which one to use.

I’ll be going through both Rider’s app and Client’s app, so this blog will be a bit long; so if you don’t want to read the whole post, just skip to the conclusion.

*It should be noted that neither of the above mentioned companies are transportation companies. They just facilitate transportation. Also, I’m not endorsed with either of the companies and everything that I’ve mentioned below comes from my own experience. With that being said, let’s start with our topic.

For Client (those who seek for rides):

For a client, the optimum app is the one which provides cheaper services with better features. This is where Pathao definitely stands out! It not only gives its services for a comparatively cheaper price but also conducts various promotional offers every now and then (Stay tuned till the end of the post for a Rs 30 discount coupon).

Safety and Insurance

If you are concerned about your insurance, then too Pathao is the one you should go with. This is what they’ve mentioned in their Terms and Services page:

By using the Service, you represent, warrant, undertake and agree that you have a valid policy of liability insurance (in industry-standard coverage amounts) for the operation of your motor vehicle/passenger vehicle and/or business insurance to cover any anticipated losses related to the operation of a taxi/passenger delivery service.

Although my insurance papers were not checked during the sign up process, having this mentioned in the TOS is far better than what Tootle has in their TOS:

We are not liable for any kind of accident or mishaps if occurs in the rides made through the application also we do not guarantee on the insurance of such drivers/clients or vehicles.

Pathao also has a report button that lets you to report a driver in case of any sort of mishaps or scam. At Pathao, we were also give a 30 minutes class before we could sign up, where we were taught about the basics of the app and how we should be treating our clients. So I think Pathao is definitely more concerned about its users than Tootle

User Interface

In the case of UI and UX, my taste is Tootle. Tootle also has the in-built wallet feature which makes it easier to make payments. You can load fund using eSewa, SCT MoCo, Tootle Voucher, Khalti, IME pay or just ask any rider to load fund for you. I’m sure more payment methods are coming soon because, at the time of my joining the app, there were only 3 of them.

If I, as a client, were to choose between these two apps, I’d definitely go with Pathao because it is cheaper and more secure.

For Riders: 

As a rider, I don’t have any single preference. If you want to become a full-time rider, Pathao is suitable for you; but if you only want to give rides that match your travel itinerary, Tootle is suitable for you. This is because these apps have completely different mechanisms. I’ll try to explain these mechanisms as simple as I can so that you can choose the one that suits you.

In the case of Tootle, it shows you everyone seeking for a ride and you can decide whether to accept him/ her or not. So you can only give rides to those who have the same route as yours. This makes it optimum for part-timers who want to earn some extra bucks without breaking their itinerary. But this has a downside too! Most of the times when I see someone in my route and try to accept them, they’re already accepted by someone else. I’ve seen some riders who blindly accept pickup requests and then cancel it later on if it doesn’t match with their route. This gives a bad experience to both user and other riders, and is something that Tootle needs to work on!

But Pathao works differently. They automatically send you the pickup requests (it’s like an alarm), so you have no option to choose which person you want to give a ride to (although you can cancel the ride), so it is not very suitable for part-timers. But if you want to become a full-timer, Pathao is better because unless you don’t cancel the pickup request, someone else won’t get the same request so you have some time(20 seconds, to be precise) to decide whether to accept the ride or not. If you don’t accept the ride within 20 seconds, it will pass on to some other rider nearby. Also, you generally receive ride requests from within a radius of 2.5km. 

Pathao also has various schemes for full-timers. They guarantee you Rs. 1000 per day if you meet their criteria. They also hold various bonus schemes for riders- like completing 5 trips within a time frame to earn extra 150 bucks. They also give you a free mobile phone holder if you complete 20 rides within 7 days.

Edited: Tootle now gives riders 100% of what they’ve made without taking any commissions, but Pathao has increased it commission from 5% to 20%, i.e. you only get to keep 80% of your total earnings.

All in all, Pathao seems to be better for full-timers while Tootle seems to be better for part-timers. Personally, I use both of them.

Conclusion:

For Clients (those who seek for rides),  Pathao is better because it is cheaper, has various promotional offers which make your rides very cheap (sometimes free).

For Riders, Tootle is better if you want to become a part-timer; and Pathao is better if you want to be a full-timer. 

I still prefer you to try both of these apps and choose the one that suits you the most. Both of these apps have proven to be very successful in providing what they have been designed for and giving great services to its users.

Discount Coupons:

If you have decided to join  Pathao as a client, you can use the code “HO4GP” while signing up to get a 100% discount (up to Rs. 30) on your first ride, and I too will get the same.
If you have decided to join Pathao as a rider, you can use the code “164OA9” and I’ll get a bonus if you complete 15 rides within 7 days.
If you have decided to join Tootle as a client/ rider, I don’t have any coupon codes; but I’ll update this blog and share codes with you if I get any.

Thanks for the read!