That women in Bangladesh don’t feel safe in public transportation is common knowledge. It’s shocking how little has been done to address this crucial issue. However, that also meant that this particular area had a lot of potential to work on. And Shuttle managed to not only identify the issue but also went to great lengths to bring about significant change in the public transport scenario of Bangladesh for women.
It’s safe to say that Shuttle’s venture didn’t go unrewarded. Exactly to what extent Shuttle managed to create meaningful impact can be understood a little through one of its most prestigious achievements. Shuttle’s founders, Reyasat Chowdhury and Jawwad Jahangir, were named in the Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia list for 2022 under the category of social impact.
I had the honor of conducting an interview with one of Shuttle’s co-founders, Reyasat Chowdhury. And he shared the story of his journey with Shuttle, the drawbacks, and challenges, as well as his dreams for Shuttle.
Shuttle: How It All Started
“All we wanted to do was to solve an endemic problem of our society,” said Reyasat Chowdhury. “However, we have to admit that public transportation overall is still a huge issue for everyone – not just women. And that’s what we initially thought we were going to target.”
Reyasat and Jawwad soon realized, however, that the market of public transportation was already incredibly saturated – and it was almost impossible for a newcomer to come in and sustain in such a competitive scenario. So, they instead targeted another arguably more significant pain point – mass transportation for women.
“We held focus group discussions to understand the experiences of people when they use mass transportation. We came across horrific stories of women, whose experience with public transportation was frightening.
And that’s when it hit us – there is no safe mass transportation catering solely to women.”
Reyasat and Jawwad decided then that becoming the first venture in Bangladesh to offer safe and specialized mass transportation to women should be the goal for Shuttle. And that’s how the journey started.
Initial Challenges, and the Creation of a Facebook Community
“Of course, we knew that we would face problems from the start. After all, we were men, trying to assure women that they’d be safe in the service that we had created. There wasn’t much reason for them to trust us initially – the experience that they faced in public transportation understandably made them skeptical of men.”
However, Reyasat and Jawwad managed to find a very clever and effective solution to the problem. Creating a Facebook community where users of Shuttle shared their experiences seemed to be a proper way of gaining the trust of Shuttle’s target customers. Shuttle’s Facebook Community for women was a place through which women in general found the stories of other women, and they understood the level of safety that Shuttle provided.
“We knew our service was great, there was absolutely no doubt in our minds,” Reyasat said. “However, if our target customers didn’t get to know it from trusted sources, they understandably wouldn’t want to try our service out. Our Facebook community served its purpose in that regard – and ultimately, women of Bangladesh started trusting us.”
Initially, Shuttle started off with two microbuses in 2018 for university students. Soon afterwards, parents would start calling Shuttle to know more about the service, and ultimately they would become one of the major catalysts behind more women starting to use the service.
The Pandemic: How Shuttle Turned an Obstacle into an Opportunity
Shuttle was gaining momentum through excellent service and the positive word-of-mouth it generated. However, that is when an unprecedented challenge introduced itself in the form of the COVID pandemic. The pandemic was especially challenging for Shuttle due to its primary customers at that point being university students.
“I’d say that was the biggest turning point in our journey,” said Reyasat Chowdhury. “At that point, so many people told us that this won’t work. We were suggested that we should shut Shuttle down because otherwise, we won’t be able to sustain for long and will come crashing down. And to be fair, they did have a point – the pandemic was at such a stage that we couldn’t picture everything going back to normal in the foreseeable future. Looking back, I believe it was one of our biggest achievements that we did not give up back then despite so many reasons for us to do so.”
Reyasat and Jawwad did not want to give up. However, they did know that this was a serious issue, and the future of the company was at jeopardy. That is when they managed to find yet another pain point, and decided to focus on solving it.
“During the pandemic, despite some temporary stoppages, offices had to remain open. However, mass transportation became a very difficult option because it meant risking the health of employees – you can’t ensure the pandemic protocol on mass transportation,” said Reyasat.
Shuttle decided to target this segment, and started Shuttle for Business. And this move turned out to be a stroke of genius. Businesses were in need of such a service – and ultimately they started to use Shuttle. Standard Chartered Bank became Shuttle for Business’ first user. And since then, Shuttle hasn’t had to look back.
Exploring New Areas, and Future Plans
Following the success of Shuttle for Business, Shuttle decided to go for different segments that it didn’t touch yet. Shuttle started providing commutes for men, as well as rental services. Shuttle started off as a safe mode of transportation for women – but has since evolved into a mode of transportation that allows almost everyone to have safe everyday transportation.
However, the co-founders of Shuttle do not plan on stagnation. “Absolutely not, we don’t want to sit here and become complacent,” states Reyasat. “We obviously are proud of what we have achieved, and how we have been able to create a positive impact in the society. But we believe there still is a lot more room for us to grow.”
What are the areas Shuttle aims to focus on next? When asked, Reyasat stated, “Accessibility is our top priority right now. We want to make our service available all over Dhaka, and eventually, everywhere in Bangladesh. We want to make sure everyone has the chance to avail our services. That’s the initial goal for now. Long term, we do want to establish our services on an international level.”
A Word for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
It’s an incredible honor for any entrepreneur to see their names in the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. However, should that be the goal for aspiring entrepreneurs of Bangladesh?
“I don’t think that’s the right approach for aspiring ones,” Reyasat explains. “You can’t just focus on receiving accolades when you get started. I believe we live in a country where we have a lot of existent issues. Of course, they are extremely painful to live with, but at the same time, they are opportunities for entrepreneurs in this country.
I think focusing on solving existing pain points should be the goal for aspiring entrepreneurs. If they do their bit right, the business will be successful, and accolades will surely follow.”
