Competition’s Envy, Commuters’ Comfort

CHENNAI: While the city-based auto drivers have been demanding a ban on bike-taxi services such as Rapido and Uber Moto across the State, police in Madurai recently enforced it on Rapido bike-taxis.

Meanwhile, regular commuters were unhappy with the decision, as bike-taxis offer convenience, affordability and easy availability to its’ users. However, an acute lack of regularisation of these taxi services has led to a confusion about its feasibility and the challenges it presents to other modes of taxis.

Convenience, cost

The popularity of bike-taxis has increased in the past few years. While it makes the traffic-hustle a little easier, when compared to autos or cabs, its’ availability to commute shorter distances makes it dearer to daily commuters.

Shrishti (23) travels to Nungambakkam from Ashok Nagar every day. She prefers bike-taxis because of direct pick up and drop, easy traffic navigation and timely response of bike-taxi aggregators on availability.

“The problem with autos is overcharging. Cab aggregators, especially bike-taxis, fix a specific cost based on distance and time consumed. It’s not only affordable but also easy to avail. However, the safety concern is the same for bike-taxis or direct autos, especially for women,” says Shrishti.

A commuter’s choice to take a specific route to reach his/her destination is another factor for bike-taxis’ rising popularity. “During rush hours or if I have to go to an area where there’s a lot of traffic, auto drivers hike the cost saying it’s the specific time of the day. Often, they even cancel our request and don’t take us. In case of bike-taxis, we’re sure about the pick-up and drop and vehicle availability. Though the auto drivers are easily available in many areas, one can avoid arguments, negotiations and other issues with bike-taxis,” says Vinod R, a resident of Nungambakkam and frequent bike-taxi user.

Resentment from auto drivers

Bike-taxi drivers face hostility from auto drivers, as they’re openly criticised if they park or wait near auto stands.

Drivers of bike-taxis claim that this was way to earn additional income and it wouldn’t necessarily affect the livelihood of auto drivers or anyone else.

“We cannot carry more than one person at a time and our business is also very limited. Women and group passengers still prefer autos. A very small group of people have started using bike-taxis. We’re not intentionally affecting any business. Even auto drivers can sign up on these applications and make better money,” points out Rajith Sardhar, a bike-taxi driver with one of the app-based aggregators.

However, those auto drivers, who are not part of any app-based aggregators, accuse cabbies, especially bike-taxis, of eating into their livelihood.

“Our earnings have dropped by over 50% in the last couple of years because everyone taps on their smartphones and gets an auto or these bike-taxis. People like me who cannot use these phones are left with less rides,” says J Ramasamy, an auto driver in Arumbakkam. “We understand that people choose bike-taxis to save money but the service is given at unreasonable price. We cannot match that cost because for most of us, this is our only income.”

Auto drivers urge the intervention of the State government to ensure they’re not forced to sign up on these app-based aggregators just to stay in business.

“We have payment issues. There’s a lot of delay in receiving payment from these platforms. Earlier, even one passenger would use an auto but nowadays, most people choose bike-taxis,” laments K Muthu, an auto driver in Kilpauk. “As per the law, only yellow board vehicles can be used for business. Bike-taxis are all privately owned. This cannot be legal but it’s being allowed in the city.”

Licensing, regularisation

Meanwhile, bike-taxi drivers say that they’re ready to opt for yellow board licensing system if the service is regulated.

“If there’s a different licensing system or a modification made to the existing regulations to apply for a certification, we’ll do it. We’re abiding by the company policy that we work with. We’ve seen a surge in bike-taxi users, including auto drivers who’ve also moved to these applications,” says B Shyamlal, another bike-taxi driver in the city.

Several bike-taxis were seized in Madurai after it was banned. Rapido made a representation to the Madurai police stating that it provided livelihood opportunities to many registered part-time workers who don’t have formal jobs.

“Such people operate with our platform solely based on a part-time basis as a means of earning extra income by way of providing a ride-pooling service on their privately registered motorcycles,” the company stated.

Earlier in 2019, the Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Cell, had sent a message to block/remove the mobile app of Rapido from Google Play Store and Apple Store. The company challenged it in High Court through a writ appeal.

The division bench of Madras High Court on August 1, 2019, had allowed Rapido to continue its operations in Tamil Nadu and later, on August 20, the government counsel sought two months from the court to take steps for framing regulations for bike-taxis in the State. However, the regulations are yet awaited.

When approached, both Uber and Ola representatives did not respond to the issue.