Bike taxi service getting good response

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, February 7

The new online bike taxi service is getting a good response from city residents. Only 10 permits were issued for the service till October, but a number of such bikes can be seen plying on city roads these days.

The records available with the district Transport Office say “Only 16 permits have been issued and a few registrations are under process”. On the contrary, Employment Bureau Officer Sanjeeda Beri, divulging the details of the current status of the youth employed under the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Rozgar Sirjan Yojna-Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar scheme, said, “A total of 70 bike drivers, 220 “autowalas” and 300 taxi drivers have been enrolled and are earning on a daily and monthly basis.”

Earlier, the online cab service used to be the first choice of residents. These days, people are moving towards the bike taxi service due to traffic congestions in the city.

“The problem of traffic congestion has increased with the passage of time. The public transport is not up to the mark so autos and cabs usually get stuck, but a bike taxi, however, manages to take you on the destination on time,” said Amitesh Singh, a resident.

Officials at the office of the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, said, “Six permits were issued in July while four in August. There was not much response earlier, but now a number of people are associated with Uber and Ola. They are directly being hired by these companies and working according to their plans on daily wages.”

“After seeing one another making profits, many more residents have come for the enrollment. In the coming days, the service is expected to attract more people,” they added.

Aman, a taxi biker, said, “We are getting good bookings for bike taxis and people are showing their interest in it. We charge reasonably. Even school and college students are making bookings as they feel it is a good way to reach on time.”

“Young women avoid opting for a bike taxi so the service providers should hire some woman drivers,” said another taxi biker, adding that to make it popular among the masses, the government needs to advertise the scheme in rural as well as urban areas.

“The service is now much popular as one can see OLA bikes on roads and even at the railway station. But there is no women driver yet. A few women use the bike taxi facility. Even for a distance of 5 km, they prefer mini cabs when, for the same distance, the fare of bike taxi is comparatively lower,” said Kulbir Singh, a resident, who uses the bike taxi frequently.

“It is not only a convenient mode of transportation but also a new employment avenue. But it will be a win-win situation when women bikers will get enrolled and the females in the city start using the service,” he added.