Bike-taxis can support 2 million livelihoods in India: Ola

Widespread adoption of two-wheelers for ride sharing in India has the potential to generate revenue of $4-5 billion in addition to creating opportunities to support two million livelihoods, a new Ola study said on Tuesday.

Bike-taxis are an ideal first mile-last mile solution as 70-85 per cent of customers prefer to use bike-taxis to travel distances less than 7 kms, said the study titled "The Power of Two Wheels - Bike Taxis: India's new shared mobility frontier".

The report by Ola Mobility Institute (OMI) provides a blueprint to capitalise on the opportunities bike taxis have to offer.

"India has one of the largest number of two wheelers plying on the roads in the world. Shared mobility and hyperlocal delivery are witnessing strong uptake and bikes have emerged as the preferred choice for both passenger and goods movement," Anand Shah, Head, Ola Mobility Institute, said in a statement.

"The report comes at a critical time when India needs to create 55-60 lakh new jobs annually over the next decade. Bike taxis will be key in achieving this target, democratising access to mobility and building an inclusive mobility ecosystem," Shah added.

The research is based on empirical analysis of bike-taxi operations in Gurugram and Jaipur.

In Gurugram, it has been observed that one in three trips are to and from metro stations, with majority of trips happening during peak hours.

The report suggests that the key to effectively governing bike taxis as a mobility category lies in providing coherent legal clarity, integration of public transit systems, allowing access to formal credit for driver entrepreneurs and creating a level-playing field for the all stakeholders.

The central government has paved the way for states to formulate policies for bike-taxi operations. However, currently, only a few states and UTs regulate this category.

Legitimising bike taxis can reduce traffic congestion and reduce parking space problems in India, said the study.