Farmer protest: Bike taxi charges surge as jams choke city borders

As the police heavily barricaded borders and checked almost every vehicle to prevent the entry of protesting farmers to the city today, commuters remained stuck in serpentine queues of vehicles for hours at Zirakpur, Mohali and Mullanpur . Bike taxis came to the rescue of a lot of commuters, but they had to pay double the regular fares, almost on a par with cab charges.

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The Chandigarh Police, with the help of paramilitary forces, put up barricades at 18 key entry points to stop the pretesting farmers from entering the city. There was traffic chaos on border areas as 1,240 police personnel, including senior officers, checked every vehicle entering the city.

While four-wheelers moved at a snail’s pace, two-wheelers managed their way across these barricades, taking advantage of broken medians and alternative routes. Commuters hiring bike taxis were shocked to see the skyrocketing fares. The fares, which usually remain between Rs 50 and Rs 70, surged from Rs 120 to Rs 180 for a ride from Mohali, Zirakpur or New Chandigarh.

“I commute daily from Zirakpur to Sector 35 in Chandigarh. I had to shell out almost double the regular bike taxi fare. However, riding a bike taxi seems more convenient today than a cab. Motorists were stuck in long queues of vehicles on the Zirakpur flyover,” said Poonam, a sales representative.

Malkiat Khandelwal, who hired a cab for the same destination, said: “Despite shelling out more money, I am stuck here for the past 25 minutes. I have even requested the police personnel to let the vehicle through, but to no avail. The fare will go up by a good amount due to the excessive ride time.”

Around 100 policemen were deployed at the Mataur barrier on the road separating Sectors 51 and 52. Several protests had been held at the spot in the past.

“There’s a strict police checking at all entry points. In such a scenario, commuting by two-wheelers is more convenient than four-wheelers. The mobile applications offering bike taxi service have increased fares taking advantage of the situation,” said Shivendera Ram, another commuter.