Mumbai is all set to brace the bike taxis, which could make their debut by the end of May. This could be the traffic relief the city has been waiting for some time now. Speaking to the Times of India, state transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said that the bike taxi service is likely to be introduced by the end of this month in Mumbai. In April, the Maharashtra Cabinet had cleared the proposal from the ride-hailing companies like Ola, Uber and Rapido.
E-bike taxi services: What to expect?
Safety is the priority, and Bhimanwar confirmed that those interested in running this service will have to undergo “police verification and background checks in the Mumbai region”. To make the rides safe for women, the state government is encouraging more lady riders to operate.
According to the bike taxi policy, the state aims to increase female riders to 50%. Bhimanwar explains that additional measures are taken for women passengers if the rider is a male. A partition will be placed between the two. Furthermore, traffic rules have to be strictly followed; otherwise, if not, then the license will be suspended and the operator will have to undertake a mandatory course on road safety training.
Mandatory requirements for ride-hailing firms
Earlier when the bike taxi policy was approved, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik explained that companies interested in providing this service will have their own 50 bikes and can operate in the vicinity of 15 kilometres. The minister is also confident that bike taxis will generate around 20,000 jobs in the state, and 10,000 will be from Mumbai.
After approving the bike taxi policy, the state government has faced opposition from the autorickshaw unions, who will go on a strike on May 21. The protest will take place in front of all the RTOs. The union is worried the bike taxis will affect their trade, but the state transport minister clarified that there are cases where auto rickshaws refuse to ply short distances with a single passenger. This void can be filled with the bike taxis, as why should a single person end up paying a fare for three passengers?
