Ola, led by Bhavish Aggarwal, has relaunched its bike-taxi service in Bengaluru and is reportedly enticing riders with the prospect of earning up to Rs 70,000 per month, as per a Moneycontrol report. Ola reintroduced its bike-taxi service despite ongoing legal disputes between ride-hailing companies and the Karnataka government regarding the service’s legality. Riders will utilize Ola’s S1 electric scooter for this service. The company is also offering electric scooters for rent at a security deposit of Rs 5,000 to individuals interested in becoming e-bike taxi riders.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Ola, stated that customers would be charged Rs 25 for a 5 km ride and Rs 50 for a 10 km ride. He further indicated plans to expand this service nationwide over the coming months. Ola’s bike-taxi service seems to have a smoother regulatory path in Karnataka due to the state government’s policy permitting electric vehicles for bike taxis.
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This development occurs against the backdrop of varying state-level regulations on bike taxis in India, with some states like Telangana allowing petrol-run bike taxis. In June, the Supreme Court ruled against the operation of two-wheeler taxis in Delhi until a formal policy was established, which had repercussions for bike-taxi aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido.
