Bike taxis reshaping sharing economy, modern transportation in Indian cities

NEW DELHI — First it was the cab revolution and now it is the turn of bike taxis that are changing the way people travel across India.

Commonly known as “baxis”, a combination of the words bike and taxis, the vehicles have made commuting affordable, faster and safer.

The concept of baxis is not new. In highly populated countries like Indonesia and Thailand, where traffic jams are a daily routine, baxis take people around in a fraction of the time a car takes.

Even in India, baxis are commonly used in tourist states like Goa and are a popular source of employment. More recently, they have ushered in a welcoming change in metropolitan cities.

Startups in the transport field introduced the idea of baxis in metropolitan cities about five years ago when the concept of shared transportation became popular.

Over the past few years, the “sharing economy” has been growing.

According to a Brookings India report, the sharing economy is believed to reach $335 billion by 2025 in the country. Besides, the concept of sharing the ride, baxis were seen as innovative for tackling the problems of growing traffic jams and pollution in major cities.

“The initial idea was to promote bike taxis in big cities which were choking because of pollution. Take the case of Delhi and its wealthy suburb Gurgaon, where smog has become a yearly feature. For daily commuters who were taking cabs to work and back home, bike taxis were a faster and more effective way of travel,” said Dheeraj Singh, who works for a bike taxi aggregator.

They were also a good source of employment for unskilled people who came to cities looking for work. “People from smaller cities especially know how to drive a two-wheeler. With a little bit of training on how to deal with passengers, especially female passengers, and speed maintenance, these drivers have a good source of employment,” Singh said.

Regular commuters swear by the service. For an average working professional who has to negotiate the travails of daily city life, the benefits of ride sharing and time effective travel are immense.

“I have shifted to baxis from my previous rides to work and back home in shared cabs. In the cab which I would normally share with other commuters to save money, I had to travel long distances before reaching my destination. However, baxis have become my daily mode of commute. It is very easy to book a ride, the rides are insured and extremely safe. I have even recommended it to my friends and colleagues,” said R. Venkatesh, an engineer.

It is very easy to book a ride, the rides are insured and extremely safe.”

R. Venkatesh, engineer and a daily user of “baxis”, a cross between a bike and a taxi