Despite the Delhi Transport Department banning bike taxis from Ola, Uber, Rapido, and other such players from offering services in the capital region of India, these still seem to be operating in full swing.
Mobility Outlook was successful in booking bike taxis from Delhi's Saket to various other places, including Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, and more! Moreover, the Ola, Uber, and Rapido mobile apps are working just fine and allowing end-consumers to book bike taxis.
“We have not received any order from higher management to stop our services in Delhi,“ said most riders we booked via these apps. Additionally, most of them were unaware of the ban imposed on bike taxis by the Delhi Transport Department.
When asked if these riders were on yellow-number plate two-wheelers or on two-wheelers taxis with white number plates, these riders said, “We will take you to your destination safely.“ Not a single of them answered whether they were driving commercial numbered motorcycles or private numbered motorcycles.
It is highly likely that other State Governments will follow suit and ban bike taxi services unless and until the riders start using commercial-numbered two-wheelers, as using the white number plate violates the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988. Queries sent to Ola, Uber, and Rapido teams were not answered till the filling of this story.
Interestingly, there is a buzz in the market that Rapido is in talks to raise over $50 million in a funding round, and this news might affect those plans.
Recently, autos (three-wheelers) from these cab aggregators were banned by Karnataka for charging exorbitant fares. Moreover, the license these companies had originally obtained did not include three-wheelers. Notably, such services had also continued to be available on all the apps a day after the Karnataka transport authority ordered banning them.
The notice sent by the transport department of Delhi clearly mentioned that if the riders continue to provide bike taxi service in Delhi, then a fine of INR 5,000 will be charged for the first offence, and a fine of INR 10,000 will be charged if the offence is repeated. The second offence also includes imprisonment.
As per Allied Market Research, India’s bike taxi market was valued at $50.5 million in 2021 and is expected to reach $1,478.0 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 48.5% from 2022-2030.
Also Read
Ola Scooter Scam Dupes Over 1,000 Individuals Tata Motors, Uber Sign MoU To Induct 25k XPRES-T EVs TVS Motor Joins Rapido To Explore Hyperlocal Mobility