No option for states to reject bike taxi norms: Rapido cofounder Guntupalli

Business Standard

11 hours ago

Rapido — one of the largest players in the bike taxi commute business — says the new guidelines released by the central government on July 1, permitting 'non-transport motorcycles' for aggregators, no longer give states the option of rejecting the revised policy.
Says Pavan Guntupalli, co-founder of Rapido: 'The guidelines permit states to have an additive policy but not the option to accept or reject the guidelines.' He adds that Rapido has always operated bike taxis with the understanding that there is already a provision in the Central Motor Vehicles Act for bikes to function as transport vehicles.
'The second clarification by the Centre reinforces this. They've now clarified that white plate motorcycles can also be used to support commute services.'
The move is a major step forward and comes just days after the Karnataka High Court banned bike taxi services in the state, disrupting public transport, especially in Bengaluru. It also opens the door for many more states beyond the 17 that have already legalised bike taxi services to join in.
The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines state: 'The state government may allow aggregation of non-transport motorcycles for passenger journeys as shared mobility through aggregators.'
Guntupalli says the company's approach has always been to work with state governments. 'Each state is different, and we're aware of that. Depending on the state and city infrastructure or constraints, there may be a need for policy customisation or additional requirements. Now that the central government is being more vocal and direct in guiding states, our immediate step would be to ramp up efforts to collaborate with states where things are moving slowly, or not at all,' he pointed out.
To put the business in perspective, estimates by Rapido and the industry say there are 9 million bike taxi riders across the country. Karnataka has around 600,000 of them across 17 cities, most of whom are local, accounting for under 7 per cent of the total bike taxi gig workforce. Of those, 150,000 gig workers are based in Bengaluru. Their daily earnings range from ₹90 to ₹120, with over 80–85 per cent coming from passenger commutes and the rest from delivery services, making this the largest gig employment category in the country.
However, in terms of actual rides, Karnataka is a big player, clocking 15-20 million rides a month compared to 80–100 million nationwide. That gives it a 15–20 per cent share of all rides in the country.