Days after the Delhi government put the brakes on bike taxis from Uber, Rapido and Ola, San Fransisco-headquartered Uber on Friday said 'it is equally important to create a level-playing field across industries'. The Delhi government is mulling to bring a regulatory framework that may allow only electric vehicles (EVs) to function like bike taxis, the time is right for a deeper industry dialogue, said Uber.
According to a circular issued by the Transport Department of the Delhi government, bike taxis plying on Delhi roads with passengers and with private registration numbers may attract fines up to Rs 10,000 and it is a punishable offence. It should be noted that operating bike taxis in the state without a proper commercial licence is a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
"To make a just transition - it is equally important to create a level-playing field across industries. Different electrification mandates for ridesharing and delivery sectors, not only leads to inequitable sharing of responsibility but seriously disadvantage the entire industry. Two-wheeler ridesharing apps should be seen at parity with others like delivery and services. The number of delivery rides far surpasses the two-wheeler mobility rides for commuters but they are being given a more practical timeframe for electrification of their fleet," Shiva Shailendran, Director – Operations, Uber India & South Asia Uber India, told ABP Live in a statement.
Thousands of people in Delhi use two-wheelers offered by ridesharing platforms, thus, accounting for an estimated 20 lakh trips every month. Last year, more than 19 lakh trips took place to and from metro stations in NCR on Uber Moto, underscoring the need-gap bike taxis fill in solving for the last-mile commute, the ride hailing platform noted.
"Given the economics around EV vs Petrol bikes, tech platforms need to invest heavily to keep driver earnings on EV bikes at parity with petrol bikes, irrespective of delivery or ridesharing. Thus it is only fair that the timelines for conversion of fleet should be the same across sectors. Uber is ready to commit to the same phased electrification mandates including full fleet electrification timelines as suggested for delivery companies,"