Ban-battered bike-taxi riders say struggling to make both ends meet

Time of India

13 hours ago

The bike-taxi ban in Karnataka has battered thousands of gig workers, as a major part of their income has disappeared.About 150,000 bike-taxi riders were estimated to be operating in Bengaluru alone before the high court-imposed ban came into effect June 16 . Since then, their income has come down by half, said at least a dozen such gig workers ET spoke with.These workers on bikes typically operate across segments such as bike taxi, parcel services, food delivery and quick commerce. Since they can't carry fare-paying passengers, many of them have switched fully to delivering parcels, food and groceries, causing a glut of riders in the market and affecting the income for gig workers from these sources as well.'I used to earn Rs 800–900 daily, but now I earn only Rs 400–500. This barely covers my bike's EMI,' said Mohammed Miraj, who has worked as a bike taxi rider in Bengaluru for the past three years. The 24-year-old rode with Uber, Rapido and other platforms to make a living.After the ban, ride-hailing platforms Rapido and Uber renamed their bike service 'bike parcel' and 'moto courier'. This allowed gig workers like Miraj to work as couriers. He now delivers parcels for Uber, Rapido and platforms such as Borzo and Porter. 'But unlike bike taxis, parcel orders are infrequent, and the drivers must travel 10-15 km with no return rides,' he said.Bike taxi operations account for 40% of India's ride-hailing volumes with Bengaluru having a 15–20% share, industry executives said.India's gig economy employed 7.7 million workers in 2020-21, according to a 2022 Niti Aayog report. The gig economy offers flexible jobs through platforms such as ride-hailing, food delivery and courier services.For Mohammed Salim, a 41-year-old part-time graphic designer, the bike-taxi ban meant losing more than just money.Salim used to begin his day at 7 am and work till noon, dropping officegoers in the city. He did the same in the evening between 4 pm and 8 pm, taking employees home. When not ferrying people, he would work on graphic designs at home.'The bike taxi not only gave me an opportunity to earn, it also allowed me to follow my passion in graphic design. No other job gives you that opportunity (and flexibility),' he said. 'At this age, who gives a job to a 41-year-old? This ban has completely left me without an income.'With bike-taxi riders moving to other platforms, the earnings of gig workers who primarily focus services such as food and grocery delivery have also taken a hit.Varun (name changed to protect identity), who hails from Bihar and works full time for Zomato in Bengaluru, said his earnings shrank from Rs 11,711 a week before the ban to Rs 5,749. 'Some days I used to earn more than Rs 2,000, but after the ban it has never happened,' he said. 'Riders have increased, which made me lose many orders. Despite me getting the notification (for an order), someone else would go pick it up.'A full-timer at Swiggy said, also on the condition of anonymity, that he used to earn far more money before the ban. Between June 2 and June 8, he worked 46 hours, earning Rs 8,743. This went down to Rs 7,334 after working 56 hours in the week after the ban, his app showed.Miraj, the bike-taxi rider who is now working as a courier, said the loss of earnings and rising costs have forced him to make difficult choices.He now earns Rs 400–500 a day. From that, he saves Rs 5,000 every month to pay his bike's EMI of Rs 5,000.'I used to give my mother Rs 500 (every day) from my savings, but today after the ban I hardly even get that much myself,' he said. 'I hope the bike taxi ban is revoked. Let them bring rules — we are ready to follow. It's not just for us; many office-going people used to take our services daily.'In its order in early April, the Karnataka high court said bike taxis could not operate without proper regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act.ET's emails and calls to aggregator companies including Rapido, Ola, Uber, Zomato and Swiggy did not elicit any response.DriveU, which provides professional car drivers, saw its headcount swell immediately after the ban on bike taxis came into effect.In the following fortnight, around 1,200 drivers joined its ranks against 181 in the same period of the previous month, chief executive Rahm Shastry told ET.'We've seen a substantial increase in drivers looking for new opportunities after the bike taxi ban,' said Shastry. 'As more drivers join the platform, our fulfilment rate has also gone up, ensuring better service for our customers.'Earlier, it could only be able to fulfil 65% of the demand due to a shortage of drivers, but now it does 80%, said Shastry. 'We have also raised earnings from Rs 525 to Rs 575 per trip for the driver partners,' he added.