Ride-hailing giant Uber India has introduced ‘Uber Moto Women’ in Bengaluru, marking its first women-exclusive bike taxi service globally. The service, which connects female riders with female drivers, is set to expand to other major metropolitan cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
Uber Moto Women drivers will have the option to switch between accepting only female riders or all passengers.
Additionally, to ensure passenger safety, Uber has integrated real-time trip sharing with up to five trusted contacts, phone number anonymisation, and RideCheck – a system that monitors route deviations and unexpected stops. A dedicated 24×7 safety helpline also offers priority support for women users.
The launch comes amid significant growth in India’s bike taxi sector, which recorded over 280 million rides across platforms in 2022, according to KPMG data. Bengaluru, a key market, currently generates more than 1 million monthly bike taxi rides. According to industry insiders, Rapido is the market leader in the segment with around 60% market share.
While bike taxis continue to operate through aggregators like Rapido, Ola and Uber, the Motor Vehicles Act does not include ‘motorcycle’ in the list of eligible vehicles to act as contract carriage, many states have banned them. Opposition to the bike taxis has come from three-wheelers and taxi unions as it puts them at a disadvantage due to the former’s lower costs.
However, the Union government has proposed amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, to allow use of motorcycles as “contract carriers,” which, if approved, will create a legal framework for bike taxis to operate in India.
