It’s cheap, convenient, has a low carbon footprint and will pick you from your doorstep and drop you at your destination, provided it’s around New Town. If you’re up for a motorbike ride, you could soon avail of “bike taxis”, a two-wheeler version of app cabs, gearing up to commence services this month. 

Two private companies — K Bike Taxi and One Man Taxi — are about to launch their bike taxis in New Town. Both had sought permission to do business all over Calcutta but the government granted them permission for a pilot project in the township before expanding elsewhere. 

New Town has reason to cheer. While buses, autos and totos ply frequently in and around the Major Arterial Road, those without private cars living in the interiors are often stranded. The bike taxis hope to bridge this gap.

Debashis Sen, chairman of New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), welcomes the move. “The roads of New Town are wide and would be a good ground for trying out this new model. The operators can constantly monitor the service and tweak any aspect that can be enhanced. Eventually it would expand operations to Sector V, Salt Lake and beyond,” said Sen. 

He was also happy there were two companies launching the service. “That way it will be a competitive market and the customer will be the winner,” he said. 

State transport secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said his department is completing last-minute formalities and that the bikes would be on the road “any day now”. “Two-wheelers have thus far been used only as private vehicles. We needed to tweak some rules to allow them to operate as commercial vehicles. We are starting the service in New Town as Debashis Sen pointed out that the township needs options for last mile connectivity. If successful, the area of service can be extended elsewhere too.”

Rules of the ride 

The bike taxis will operate much like app cabs. Once you download the app on your smartphone, you would be able to tap on it and hail a nearby bike between 8am and 8pm. Also, the ride is available only to those above the age of 18 years. 

Their jurisdiction is the NKDA area, connecting corners like the Technopolis Bridge, Chinar Park, Aquatica, Shapoorji Pallonji complex etc. The pick-up point of the ride has to be within this area and the drop-off point has to be within a radius of 5km outside the township.

The minimum fare would be Rs 20 for the first 2km. Thereafter, it would be Rs 5 for every kilometre. For the time being, neither company is planning on surcharge at peak hours. “So while a Technopolis to City Centre 2 ride would cost Rs 160 on an app cab, on our bike taxi it would cost Rs 60,” says Imran Mustafa, who along with childhood friend Firdous Kalim, has started K Bike Taxi.

One Man Taxi is using Bajaj Platina 100 bikes and K Bike Taxi Honda CD110 Dream. The vehicles would have “Bike-Taxi” painted on them in reflective colours and the drivers would be in uniform. They would accept only one passenger as pillion and he would be handed a helmet and a disposable cap to don under the helmet for hygiene reasons.

Safety first 

On the move, the riders would maintain a speed limit. “We have got the bike companies to tune the engines such that they cannot exceed a speed limit of 40kmph,” Kalim says. “And they would only ply in the service lanes.”

Raghav Randar, a resident of Beliaghata who started One Man Taxi, says Bajaj, their training partner, has trained their riders, taught them the basics of bike mechanics and that they would be asked not to exceed 60kmph. “Initially we had thought of 40kmph but some roads in New Town have signboards saying 60 is the speed limit. On such stretches if they move slower than other vehicles, they would get hit or would reduce the overall traffic speed,” he says. They also have insurance for riders and commercial pillions.  

“I am a safe rider,” said Ahmed Hossain, who is with K Bike Taxi. “We have also been asked to be courteous with passengers. After every ride the app would ask them to rate us and we would obviously strive for good scores.”

An SOS button would be available on the apps too. 

“We are tying up with Charnock Hospital so in case of a medical emergency we should have their ambulance rush to the spot too," says Randar. 

Challenges 

The two companies have had to overcome many a challenge before they could to get this show on the road. Both have been at it since January 2016, writing to the state transport department for permission to start such a venture.  

"The first problem was getting a commercial licence for a two-wheeler. Before this no one had seen a yellow number plate on a bike," says Kalim. "It was the same with insurance and tax registration."

Randar even travelled to Goa and Gurgaon to study the bike rentals available there. "Goa has always had bike rentals and in 2015 Gurgaon started bike taxi services. Still, the Haryana government took two years to sanction all permits and the Bengal government did it in a year," he says. "I want to launch this service in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Gurgaon too but want to start with my own city, Calcutta." 

Both companies will start with 15 bikes and acquire more thereafter. The next problem they face is riders. "Thus far there was provision to give a commercial licence to a bike rider so there were no commercial riders for us to hire," says Mustafa.

"The law has now been amended to make the provision but even then a rider needs to have a regular licence for a year before he can apply for a commercial one. We would have liked to start with a fleet of 50 bikes but could only find 15 eligible riders to start with." 

Randar admits to another problem. "There is a section of commuters, particularly the aged, who are scared of bikes to begin with. Even with the best of facilities it would be difficult to get them to hitch a ride. The heat and pollution is also a problem. Fresh air is no longer fresh and everyone wants air-conditioning. So our target audience is the 20 to 40 year olds, maybe those headed to office or back." 

Women riders wanted

The companies acknowledge that women may not be comfortable riding behind men and are looking to introduce women riders in their next phase. 

"We would have Honda Activa scooties for women. Women riders would cater to only women passengers but women passengers are free to opt for either men or women riders," says Mustafa. 

Randhar hopes to do the same but says it's an uphill task finding women riders in the first place. "In some Indian states it is common for women to ride scooties but not in Bengal. Here only affluent women ride two-wheelers, that too for leisure. None of them would do so to earn their living. There are no delivery girls here, only delivery boys," he says. 

Even if we do find a candidate willing to learn riding, she has to be Class VIII-pass and has to have a regular licence for a year before she can apply for the commercial one. "It's not going to be easy," Randhar says. Mustafa says they have been advertising to seek such candidates and four women have responded. 

Either way, the services are not about to forgo potential women passengers. "Women need this service as much as men and we may put a bag in between the passenger and rider if it makes them more comfortable," says Randhar. "In any case women's safety should not be a concern as passengers on a bike are more visible to outsiders than inside a closed car," said Randhar.  

Moumita Khan, a resident of Sankalpa 4 is excited about the service. "There's no toto stand near my complex so I usually have to walk to nearby places. If the bike service is reasonably priced, I would make frequent use of it. If there are women riders, then great, but during rush hour I won't mind taking the service even if men are riding. 

Young men seemed interested to try the service. "It's a novel idea and I'd like to try it next time I come here," said Surajit Nandi, a 20-something resident of Dum Dum who had taken a bus to come to Eco Park. "It will be faster than a bus and cheaper than an app cab."

But others are not as sanguine. "I would never use a bike taxi. I have so many documents, files and laptop to carry, that I never even travel by auto. It's either my car or app cab for me," says Suman Ray, whose office is at Unitech building. "Besides the Calcutta weather is too hot and humid for bike taxis to be feasible. And what will they do during monsoon? People here do not have an affinity for bikes. There are barely five or six bikes parked in our office parking lot."

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