Uber to launch bike taxi service in Punjab on July 24

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will flag off the first set of 100 Uber bike taxis on July 24, under a new scheme aimed at generating jobs for the state’s unemployed youth.

Uber’s South Asia public policy director Shweta Rajpal Kohli called on the chief minister here on Monday to finalise the launch of the scheme, which will create 10,000 livelihood opportunities in Punjab in the next one year, an official spokesperson said. A total of 45,000 jobs will be created under this scheme in the next five years, Kohli said after meeting Captain Amarinder.

Captain Amarinder had given the go-ahead to the launch of bike taxis or ‘baxis’ in the state in May as part of the government’s ‘Apni Gaddi, Apna Rozgar’ programme. A spokesperson of the chief minister’s office said after Monday’s meeting with the Uber representative that the company was also considering starting 7-seater vans in Punjab.