Why India needs to let bike-taxis thrive

This is the latest instalment of a long-running saga. There are an estimated 35,000 bike taxis in Delhi. In February the government banned aggregators and said violators would be fined ₹1 lakh. After the high court allowed the aggregators to operate, the Delhi government approached the Supreme Court, saying it would have a policy in place by the end of July.

Bike taxis are a common feature of many cities in South East Asia and India. In high-density metros with nightmarish traffic such as Jakarta, Saigon, Hanoi and Bangkok, they are among the most popular forms of public transport.

There are at least five bike-taxi apps in India and bike taxis are in use in many cities (albeit unofficially in some). According to one estimate, bike taxis are available – with or without apps – in over 100 Indian towns. Bangalore-based Rapido, which claims to be the most popular bike-taxi app in India, said its app has been downloaded more than 25 million times and that it operates in more than 100 towns. But Delhi has followed in the footsteps of the Maharashtra government in banning this cheap form of transportation. The city of Indore also banned bike taxis in September 2022, citing safety concerns.

Ride-hailing for two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers is more or less the same as far as financial models are concerned, although bike-taxis tend to be cheaper. But the physical dynamics are obviously different. Old Delhi (and older parts of most Indian cities) have narrow, extremely crowded lanes that are inaccessible to four-wheelers. Even on wide roads with heavy traffic, bike-taxis are the speedier option. They are especially convenient for last-mile connectivity from, say, a metro station to an office.

Bike-taxi apps haven’t been around for very long – informal two-wheeler taxis predate them, and in certain cities (such as Ranchi and Indore) unofficial bike taxis (meaning private vehicles) have been around for much longer.

They are cheap and extremely useful for navigating high-congestion areas. Before the ban, Rapido said over 200,000 ‘bike captains’ signed up with it in Mumbai and Pune and serviced over 80,000 rides a day.

Why have they been banned in Delhi, Maharashtra and Indore, then? Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also tried to impose bans, which have been stayed by their high courts. The state governments are said to be considering appeals, citing the Supreme Court judgement in the Delhi case as precedent. Karnataka is also said to be considering a policy under which only electric two-wheelers will be allowed to ply as cabs.

One reason for the bans is a technicality – bikes aren’t licensed for commercial transport. This could be fairly easily dealt with. Various motor-vehicle departments could be instructed to charge a licence fee and change the category. Kolkata is said to be considering this option.

Another reason for the ban is that autorickshaw and taxi unions, which are opposed to bike-taxis, have considerable political clout. Taxi unions also object to aggregators in general, of course. Disregard for safety and pollution are also cited as possible reasons for the bans. Maybe an electric-only policy could be brought in, and there’s no particular reason why a bike would be less safe if there’s a paying passenger. Insurance premiums could be tweaked if there’s data to suggest this.

Policymakers at the municipal level need to recognise the demand that these two-wheeler cabs fulfil, given their ability to navigate narrow, crowded Indian streets. A licensing policy that takes consumers, cabbies, insurance and other variables into account would probably be a better solution than blanket bans.