Mukesh was halfway through to dropping a passenger in Delhi on Tuesday when a fellow driver stopped to tell him about the latest orders from the Delhi government that have enforced a complete ban on plying of bike taxis in the national capital. Mukesh, like several others of his ilk, stood midway, confused and uncertain as he had not heard from his employers at Uber about this.

Over the past few years, particularly after the Covid pandemic, bike cabs in and around Delhi have become popular for a number of reasons, cheap fare being one of them. But with a new order from the Delhi government, both cabbies and riders have been left clueless.

Brought to a halt

On Monday, the Delhi transport department warned bike taxis that are plying in the city. A notice was issued that said the use of two-wheelers having private registration marks for commercial purposes is in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

On Tuesday, News18 spoke to some of the bike taxi drivers in Delhi who entered the city without any knowledge, just like Mukesh.

“My last passenger booked the cab for Delhi from Gurugram. I brought him here. I was waiting for my next ride along with other bikes (in CP). Two police officials came and told us about the new order and asked us to leave the place. We ran away from there but now I am clueless. Plying in just one part of the NCR will not be economical. We have no idea what we can do next. There was no communication from the companies about this,” said Santosh Kumar, who has signed up with all three major app-based aggregators – Ola, Uber, and Rapido – plying in Delhi-NCR.

Both Ola and Uber were contacted for comments on drivers’ statements but they have not responded so far.

Mukesh, who is in his late 20s, said he was working with a company before the lockdown. A lack of job options forced him to opt for this work. “I am an ITI graduate. I was working with a company in Ghaziabad. During the lockdown, the company was closed and I could not find a job. The family needed money. I had to look for something else. I had my bike and so I got myself registered here,” said Mukesh.

Both Kumar and Mukesh said that with their bikes, they manage to earn a decent income to run their households. “It is not that we are earning lakhs and crores of rupees. Before making us illegal overnight, they should have come up with an alternative. If Delhi is removed from our map, how will we take longer rides between Noida-Ghaziabad and Gurugram-Faridabad?” they asked.

Another biker, 35-year-old Shailendra, who belongs to Madhya Pradesh, lashed out at the Arvind Kejriwal government.

“He (Kejriwal) keeps saying that his government is for the common man. He also praises himself for his schemes for auto-rickshaw drivers. How are we different from them? Are we not paying taxes when we buy fuel? How much do they think we are making that they need taxes from us? Or this is because they think that only auto-rickshaw drivers are poor and we are very rich?” he said.

Riders helpless too

While the order is impacting the drivers adversely, riders too are unhappy as now they have to look for alternative modes.

“I take these bikes to my office in central Delhi from Noida. It was not only cheaper but faster when compared to car taxis. While a cab takes around Rs 400-500 during non-peak hours, bikes used to cost me Rs 100-200. Also, while with car taxis, the drive time is usually more than one hour, the same distance with a bike can be covered in 35-40 minutes,” said Aditya Pandey who works in a central government office.

Sudiksha, a student who stays in Laxmi Nagar and goes to a college in Noida, also said that this new order will impact her budget.

“These bikes are safer compared to cars. They are faster and cheaper as well. It costs me less with the bike than if I take the metro and auto. No doubt they are faster as well and I get door-to-door service. The order is definitely impacting me,” she told News18.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), whose members include Ola and Uber, had urged the Delhi government to engage with all relevant stakeholders – industry associations, digital platforms, and affected transportation workers – before any coercive action such as the steps mentioned in the public notice is contemplated.

“The Govt of NCT of Delhi has been working on ambitious electrification plans that lay great focus on the electrification of two-wheelers. In the nascent commercial bike aggregation sector, bike owners operate on food delivery, e-commerce and rideshare platforms interchangeably,” they said, adding that any restrictions on their ability to access one sector will negatively impact both their economic opportunities and the state’s electrification goals.

Read all the Latest India News here