Nearly a year and a half ago, umemployment and frustration drove 35-year-old differenty-abled K. Balaji to start a bike-taxi service.
Today, bike taxis are gradually making progress in the city to cater to single riders who do not wish to take a cab or an auto.
Limhan Shahul, a 31-year-old resident of Mannady regularly takes bike-taxis from Ma Ula to travel to Anna Salai. “I pay about ₹80 for travel back and forth. This is not only cheaper than cabs and autos, also these bike-taxis can take us through narrow streets. Also, they can wade through traffic faster than cabs,” he said.
Mohammed Gaddaffi who runs Ma Ula along with K. Balaji said, there are about 11 bike taxis with four pick-up points and the commuters just need to inform them hour half in advance. They charge ₹10 per km. “This provides livelihood for the differently-abled and they are able to make about 8-10 rides everyday,” he said.
Similarly, Vroom, another bike-sharing app launched sometime ago charges ₹4 per km and ₹1 per minute for waiting. They have pick-up and drop from any part of the city. They also provide helmets for the commuters. Hitch-biker too is another bike-sharing service in the city.
Uber eyeing Chennai
Uber that has a bike sharing app uberMOTO in Ghaziabad, Noida, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad too is keen to enter Chennai too. Arjun Srinivasan, from Uber-Chennai said, 70% of the vehicles in Chennai are two-wheelers and nearly 1,500 get added every day.
“Research has also shown one shared vehicle can replace 9 to 13 owned vehicles in a city; we will be able to effectively tackle congestion. Given the high density of two wheelers, bike taxis will make ride-sharing accessible to a wider section through comparatively lower fares and also enhance utilisation of existing vehicles,” he said.
In addition to this, it also has the potential to create flexible earning opportunities for motorbike owners who can recover their running costs, he noted. The biggest advantage of bike taxis is that they can provide reliable first and last mile connectivity to public transit systems in the city like the metro, bus stop or the railway station. “In fact, in Gurgaon, 25% of UberMOTO are to/from metro stations and in Ahmedabad, our riders often opt for an UberMOTO ride to travel to Kalupur Railway Station,” he said.
