Coimbatore : The city Sunday witnessed the introduction of a fleet of hijab clad women and transgenders as pilot for autorickshaws, an initiative by MAuto as part of women empowerment.

This was aimed at safer travel for women and providing employment opportunities to the needy, an MAuto release said here.

“With this initiative, we are addressing two crucial issues in one go — providing a respectable, lucrative livelihood option to women in need while making the daily commute of their well-to-do counterparts safe and hassle-free,” Founder and Chairman, MAuto Group of companies, Mansoor Ali Khan said.

Already, MAuto with 330 female drivers boasts of the largest women fleet and already operating in Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy and areas along the entire Tirunelveli belt and will be introduced in Erode, Salem and Tirupur, he said.

Apart from this, a Women’s Pride icon on their mobile app– MAuto Pride which gives an option to choose whether one wants to ride with a male, female or transgender pilot. “Even if a women pilot is not near your area, don’t worry. We will arrange within five to ten minutes,” Khan.said.

Like other app based aggregators, even MAuto’s app comes with a panic button and tracking system, he said