Months on, no takers for e-bike taxi scheme in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: It has been five months since the government launched the Karnataka electric bike taxi scheme, but no operator has taken licence to offer services so far.
In July, the government unveiled the ambitious scheme to allow e-bike taxis to help provide first- and lastmile connectivity, mainly in urban areas to and from Metro, bus and railway stations.
The transport department proposed a fare of Rs 25 for the first 5km and Rs 50 for 10km. Many commuters said e-bike taxis would be a good, cheap option considering there are no shared auto or taxi services in the city.
A senior transport official admitted there have been no takers for the scheme. “We received some enquiries but they don’t want to invest in new electric scooters. Those interested need to register electric bikes/scooters as bike taxis. A new electric bike will cost Rs 60,000-1.2 lakh, so they will have to spend more than Rs 1 crore for 100 bikes. They all want existing petrolrun bikes to be allowed under this scheme, but we don’t have any such plans,” he said.
Rapido has been operating non-electric bike taxis in the city since 2016. It was unavailable for comment.
App-based two-wheeler rental firm Bounce, which recently launched Infinity E1 (electric scooters with swappable batteries), expressed an interest in the project. Vivekananda Hallekere, CEO and co-founder of Bounce, said the firm might apply for licence to operate e-bike taxis. However, app-based cab aggregator Ola, which recently rolled out electric scooters, has no immediate plans to launch e-bike taxis in the city.
Ola and Uber had launched bike taxi services earlier, but operations were suspended after the transport department seized their vehicles for plying without permission.
Cheaper option
E-bike taxis will be cheaper than autos and taxis. For autos, the minimum fare for the first 2km is Rs 30 and for every additional km, it is Rs 15. In app-based cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber, commuters pay a minimum of Rs 75 for small cabs and Rs 150 for luxury taxis for the first 4km. For city taxis, it is Rs 18 per km for non-AC cabs and Rs 24 per km for AC ones.
According to the rules framed for the e-bike taxi scheme, the distance between the origin and destination of the trip should not be over 10km. The licensee should charge a flat fare in two slabs: up to 5km and for 5-10km.
Yellow-coloured helmets should be provided to the driver as well as passenger.
“The distance of the journey travelled by the hirer shall be measured on the basis of an odometer fitted in the bike. The fare will be on the basis of distance, not journey time,” the rules say.