Motorcycle Taxis to Make Way in Bengaluru

Due to rising traffic and congestion, cities like Goa and Gurgaon are opting for motorcycle taxis as a mode of transport. Now even Bengaluru is looking forward to adopting the concept of motorcycle taxis. Jayanagar RTO, which generates taxi permits, has stated that it has received a few applications about motorcycle taxis but has not announced the decision due to the upcoming legislative elections that are scheduled to take place on December 27, 2015. The transport department has already fixed the price for these taxis at Rs. 10 for first two kilometers and then Rs. 5 per kilometer for the extra km. The department is also preparing the guidelines for bike taxis like a tax to be imposed, types of vehicles, helmet for pillion rider, yellow number plates and digital trip meters.

Also Read: Haryana Government Welcomes the Bike-as-a-Taxi service 

Rame Gowda, Transport Commissioner has told Bangalore Mirror, "The regional transport authority headed by the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban n district is authority which issues the permit. Meanwhile, the state government would be approached seeking approval for the guidelines to cover bike taxis in the city." An official from Transport department has said, "The city already has a whopping 40.64 lakh two-wheelers out of 58.75 lakh vehicles. One of the private operators has already started his business via a mobile app. We have no idea how their business is doing. If we consider the traffic density in the city commuting on bike also takes much time though it is comparatively lesser to buses, city taxis and autos."

Also Read: Ola planning to launch Motorcycle-Taxi Soon 

Vishal Kumar, co-founder of Hey Bob, a mobile taxi aggregator in Bangalore, said, "In our study we have found that a person travels on a bike saves at least 70 percent time compared with commute in a four wheeler or autos. It is also economical at just Rs 5 per km. At present, we have started our operations in Koramangala area linking various destinations. After we announced our operations, over a thousand people have downloaded the app." He added that 40 people are ready to use their bikes as taxis. Kumar also claimed that Hey Bob does a proper background check of these bikers. Informing that he is yet to use all 40 vehicles, he said, "We have not released all of the vehicles on the road. In coming days, we would convert them to a transport vehicle bearing yellow number plates."

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