Following the footsteps of Goa, the Government of Haryana has permitted the use of commercial two-wheelers to operate as contract carriages in the city. Haryana is the second state in the country to allow bikes to be used as taxis; the services will soon hit the Gurgaon streets.
The service is meant to provide commuters last-mile connectivity to offices, schools, colleges and residential areas from metro stations and bus stops.
A trip from Huda City Centre to Cyber Park or from Sikanderpur to Cyber Hub would cost around Rs. 25 on these bikes, reported Hindustan Times.
The permission has been granted to an operating agency called ‘Baxi’. It is owned by 74 BC Technologies Private Limited, which is a Gurgaon-based company promoted by Ashutosh Johri and Manu Rana, both of whom are from the 1995 batch of IIT, Delhi.
“Our pilots (drivers) will be trained in hygiene, etiquette, safety and other aspects to make passengers comfortable with using our service. They will carry helmets and hair nets for pillion riders. Our bikes will be easily visible from a distance and all our pilots will be wearing uniforms,” said Johri, the managing director of the company.
He added that the service will be launched by November-end with 100 motorbikes of companies such as Bajaj and Hero Honda. As the bikes will be new, registration will take time. With their launch, Gurgaon will be the second city in the country, after Goa, to have such a taxi service.
Countries such as Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Cameroon, China and Sweden already have such two-wheeler taxi services.