Hey folks!

Mumbai! It's all about kande pohe, vada pav, the Mumbai local, roaring beaches. And of course, fighting against all odds to get to your destination amidst the horrible road traffic! Oh, add to that the monsoons and you have the perfect recipe for chaos.

And if you’ve ever been to the city of dreams, you may have witnessed all of this, best viewed from the upper level window seat of a double decker bus. Most local folks may not have the time to cherish these experiences because living in Mumbai almost means that you have to teleport from one place to another to get there on time. So you’ve got to be a tourist to actually have this patience.

But if you don’t visit Mumbai before next year, you may never get to see the OG double deckers any more. BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) is planning to phase them out as they’ve been serving the city since 1937. And working them further could only mean putting passenger and environmental safety at risk in the form of frequent breakdowns, accidents and increased emissions.

As of now there are just 19 of these plying the streets of Mumbai. But they’ll be decommissioned by October this year. And after the summer of 2024 you may just see one of these in one of Mumbai’s museums. What you’ll have on the streets instead is, a revamped electric and AC version of the red double decker.

That way you may not really lose an opportunity to experience the bustling streets of Mumbai as a visitor. What you might miss is the warm gush of air and the monsoon raindrops kissing your face from the open windows of an octagenarian double decker.

Here’s a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵

Bhai Rahgir Ye Hum Kaunsi Gaadi Pe Chadh Gaye by Rahgir

Thanks for this heartfelt recommendation Ojasvini Chanda!

A couple of things caught our eye this week 👀

Truck drivers and the economy

Over half of India’s truck drivers admit to working despite being tired or sleepy. Truck driver fatigue isn’t a new problem.

It’s actually one of the reasons why truck drivers don’t like their jobs as much. You see, they hardly get any time to spend with family or friends apart from their fellow drivers as they work nearly 12 hours a day with minimal breaks. There’s no standard wage rate. And they don’t even have social security in the form of insurance or retirements benefits.

Besides, here’s the thing. Close to three fourths of our freight travels via roads. And trucks carry nearly 65% of the freight traffic in India. And since truck driving seems to be such an unrewarding job, India has a shortage of these folks. You could say that about a quarter of trucks lie idle because we don’t have enough truckers to keep them going.

The impact?

It leads to slower freight movement and could lead to costs as much as 1.5% of the GDP.

But the government wants to bridge this gap with a new plan. A couple of days ago it approved the idea of installing ACs in truck cabins. This will help bring down road accidents which could cost the nation over 22,000 crores annually in the form of lives and goods destroyed.

So you could say that this is just the beginning of improved working conditions for the folks who drive India’s road logistics. Sure, it may increase costs for truck owners and freight companies. But it won’t be more expensive than losing the very backbone of our freight system no? What do you think?

***

Jio’s feature phone market game

In 1999, Mukesh Ambani proposed an idea to his father Dhirubhai Ambani. He wanted to create a huge telecom network that connected every end of India with as much traffic as possible.

But his father didn’t think it would work. Unless they could make people talk to each other at anything less than the cost of a postcard. Mind you, at the time just picking up the phone to ask someone how they were doing, cost ₹36!

And here we are today, talking to people across borders for just a quarter of that price per day. And there’s no denying that this has got a lot to do with Jio’s continuous fight for expanding its market share with one formula ― disruption. Today, it dominates the wireless network market with a 37% share. Airtel is a close competitor at 32%.

But here’s the thing, Jio doesn’t want to bask in the glory of its current leadership. Especially, now that people don’t need multiple sims. Most networks offer cheap calling and data tariffs afterall. So it’s got a new trick up its sleeve to lure new users ― 4G feature phones.

Now, these phones make up a measly 14% of the Indian phone market. But the manufacturers who make these don’t really seem to understand the sentiment of such phone users. 4G feature phones from brands like Itel and Nokia cost almost double that of the Jio Bharat phone. While others like Lava don’t come with 4G support.

So when Jio walks in with its Jio Bharat edition at just 999, it’ll obviously attract some eyeballs. Jio also has an added advantage as it’s both a phone maker and a network provider. That makes it easier to onboard more network users.

Another smart move is letting phone makers like Karbonn who’re eager to make a comeback. The Jio Bharat platform will just share a blueprint so that these folks can make their own 4G feature phones. All they’ll have to do is roll these out with Jio’s content library.

Once users get hooked to these phones, there’s very little chance that they’ll upgrade to anything else because upgrading to the latest technology is the least of their worries. All they want is to stay connected. And Jio’s helping them do just that, while it makes more money on the side.

Infographic 📊

Money tips 💰

Psychology of an online shopper

Say hello to Mario. He’s a plumber. One busy Monday he had quite a lot of customer bookings. And when he got home after his hectic day, he realised that one of his best hammers was missing from his toolkit.

Now, Mario prefers to shop online and gets most of his equipment from the Mushroom Kingdom shopping app. They just deliver quite quickly and have great discounts. So he bought one hammer of the app immediately. The next day he got his new plumbing tool delivered.

While at work, a customer called him to inform him that he’d forgotten his hammer at their place on Monday. He quickly collected it and decided to return the new hammer that he bought online.

When he dialled customer care, the executive Mr. Goomba convinced him to receive his refund in his shopping wallet. It would be easier for him to shop next time. No card details or OTPs. Mario agreed. After all, he’d lose nothing.

And that’s probably what most of us might be tricked into thinking too. But a Harvard Business Review research suggests that when you choose to opt for a shopping refund back into your wallet, it reminds you that you’ve already lost your money. So, it’s more likely that you’ll use that refund to buy something else that you’ve been eyeing.

But what happens when that refund comes back to your source of payment? It just feels like money you have to spend again to buy something. So you may be less likely to buy something with that money. And this weird shopping psychology is called the refund effect.

Well, in a couple of days, Mario bought a new pair of overalls with the money lying in his Mushroom Kingdom wallet. And Goomba got a pat on the back for his smooth indirect sales trick.

So, don’t be like Mario.

And beware of the refund effect.

Readers Recommend 🗒️

Sad in the City | A podcast by Taylor Tomlinson

Adulting can be hard. Especially when you have to move to a new city that bustling with people, but all you feel is lonely. And if that passed your vibe check (umm, sorry we don’t mean to be rude) then this podcast is definitely for you. Comedian Taylor Tomlinson gives you a realistic look at life in your 20s and 30s.

And our reader Saba Shahin says that it’s super relevant and feel-good, especially if you feel sad or lonely in your city. Thanks for writing in Saba. We hope there aren’t too many people feeling lonely out there. But we hope our readers give this podcast a listen.

Finshots Weekly Quiz 🧩

It’s time to announce the winner of our previous Weekly Quiz. And the winner is… 🥁

Mohit Patni! Congratulations. Keep an eye on your inbox and we’ll get in touch with you soon to send over your Finshots merch.

And for the rest of you, here’s your next chance to grab the winner’s crown. Click on this 👉🏽 link, answer all the questions correctly and tune in next week to check if you got lucky.

Until then, don’t forget to tell us what you thought of today’s newsletter. And send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations. We’ll feature them in the newsletter! Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).

Ciao!

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