Are bike taxis worth the risk?

mid-day’s Diwakar Sharma takes a bike taxi from Andheri East to Vile Parle on Friday. Pics/Atul Kamble

By Anurag Kamble, Diwakar Sharma and Shirish Vaktania

Drawn by their appeal of economy and faster mobility, bike taxis may have emerged as a popular mode of transport for last-mile connectivity in the city, but scores of drivers brazenly flout traffic norms putting the lives of their users at risk. mid-day reporters on Friday made many trips on bike taxis of Uber and Rapido to encounter the show of recklessness first-hand.

On a trip from Vile Parle East to Bandra East, the driver entered a no-entry lane

The two-wheeler rides by Uber and Rapido were recently introduced to enhance intra-city commuting services, but the riders have been adding woes to the traffic menace in Mumbai. mid-day came across instances of speeding, jumping signal, lane cutting, zigzag ride on busy roads, ride on no-entry lanes during its test drive.

Men and women in the city have warmed up to app-based bike taxis because the ride is economical compared to autos whose drivers often fleece passengers or deny to ply.

This Rapido bike taxi had no number plate on the rear. Pic/Anurag Ahire

mid-day learnt that there is a dearth of riders in Rapido which results in a longer wait-time for customers. Also, many of the Rapido riders have registered themselves with Uber as well to make more money. This means when a customer books a ride on Rapido, it is quite likely that the person will receive a call from an Uber rider.

Though Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey had raised concerns over safety aspects tied to delivery boys and warned app-based delivery services, there was no mention of bike taxi aggregators.

A rider with mid-day's Diwakar Sharma at Andheri East. Pic/Atul Kamble

Ride 1

Service: Rapido
Distance covered: 3.6 km in 12.18 mins
Ride: Railway Colony, Andheri East, to Nehru Rd, behind Hotel Sahara Star, Vile Parle East
Time: 1:41 PM
Rider's name and Bike No: Imran Khan (MH48BD5362)
Experience: After waiting for 14 minutes, the rider reached the pick-up location. Though he was wearing a helmet, he didn't have one for the pillion rider. When a mid-day correspondent asked for a helmet, Khan said: ‘You are the first customer who is asking for the helmet, otherwise no one demands a helmet to ride my pillion."
"Passengers never like to put on a helmet that has been used by others. And, now, it's the summer season when most of us sweat in the scorching sun. Even if I offer them a helmet, drenched in the sweat of others, no one would wish to wear it…so why should I carry an extra helmet," said Khan. He added, "Also, no traffic cop stops us if the pillion rider is not wearing a helmet…so, be comfortable during the ride."

A Rapido rider at Vile Parle East. Pic/Atul Kamble

Ride No 2

Service: Rapido
Distance covered: 5.22 km in 19.16 mins
Ride: Navpada, Vile Parle East, to Chetna College, Bandra East
Rider's name and Bike No: Sunny Giri (MH-02-BS-2766)
Experience:After waiting for 10 minutes, the rider reached the pick-up point. This rider too did not have a helmet for the pillion rider. As he reached the Western Express Highway, he went off the track and started heading towards Vile Parle West by following the routes suggested by the app. "Bhai, kidher jaa rahe hain humlog, ye route galat hai," asked the correspondent. The rider replied: "I am from Borivli, so I don't know where your destination is. I am just following the route as per the device. If you want, I will change the route."
After a few minutes, the rider made a U-turn and rode through a ‘No Entry' lane against oncoming vehicles. He was quite rash."
The rider again reached the same location from where he picked the correspondent. He then switched off the device and started to ride on WEH and reached the destination.

Ride No 3

Service: UBER
Distance covered: 8.59 km in 18 minutes
Ride: Collector's Office, Bandra East, to Railway Colony, Andheri East
Rider's name and Bike No: Sanjay (MH01DV0554)
Experience: The rider reached the pick-up point with a brand new motorcycle bearing registration number MH01DZ1593, which was different from what the one shared by the service provider. When asked why the motorcycle is different, the rider replied: "If you want, you can cancel the ride."
The correspondent continued with the booking. The rider began zipping. On an open stretch on the WEH and at some points the rider jumped traffic signals before reaching the destination. "Why were you speeding and breaking traffic signals?" asked the correspondent. "I am getting calls from customers of different service providers. I also take rides for Rapido. So, after dropping you, I will take another ride," he replied.

Ride No 4

Service: UBER
Distance covered: 8.14 km in 15 minutes
Ride: Railway Colony, Andheri East to RNA Corporate Park, Bandra East
Rider's name and Bike No: Ashwin and MH48AH0878
Experience:He rode the motorcycle at dangerously high speed whenever he found the road free of traffic.

Ride No 5

Service : Uber
Distance covered: 12.76 km in 24 mins
Ride: Vashi Gaon to Ghatkopar Railway station
Time : 2.28pm
Rider's name and Bike No: Rakesh (MH-43-BT-6244)
Experience: After an Active rider cancelled the trip, Rakesh accepted the request and came on a Yamaha R15 bike. He had no helmet for the pillion rider. He rod at 30 km/hr till Vashi toll naka.
After crossing the toll naka, Rakesh zoomed and touched 80 kmph in no time. He slowed down just before the Octroi booth signal. Once it turned green, he zipped through the road, clocking 110 kmph. Just then some part of the bike came under the wheels. This made the biker slow down though the speed remained above 60 kmph. He took the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road which banned for two-wheelers.
The pillion seat on the bike is slightly at a higher level than the rider's. Also it didn't have any back support for the pillion rider to hold on to in case of sudden braking which happened a couple of times on GMLR.

An Uber bike taxi on a trip from Mulund to Bandra East. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

Ride No 6

Service: Uber
Distance covered: 21.78 km in 46 mins
Ride: Gavanpada in Mulund (East) to RNA Corporate Park, Bandra East
Time : 5.23pm
Name of the Rider and Bike No: Shankar Bhojane (MH-03-DB-9164)
Experience: The rider arrived at the pick-up location with a helmet and mask. When asked about the pillion rider's helmet, he replied, "Sorry sir, I don't carry one. I have come directly from office." Reluctantly, he asked, "Sir do you want me to speed on the highway", prompting the reporter to reply, "You drive as you always do," The rider said, "Sir I don't cross the 60 km/hr mark, which sometimes irritates passengers and they ask me to speed on highways. So if you are in a hurry and want a speedy ride please tell me. I will cancel the ride and bear the penalty as I am doing this to earn some extra money and don't want to put my and the pillion rider's life in danger".
The reporter asked him not to speed. After riding quietly for about 20 minutes, he said, "I have a job but to get some extra money for my family I am doing this. I spend 3 hours daily and try to earn as much as I can. The biker was polite.

mid-day reporter on a trip at Goregaon East. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Ride No. 7

Service: Rapido
Distance covered: 5.9 km in 11 mins
Rider's Name: Harshal Chavan (MH 02 FD 1873)
Ride: Patel Estate at Jogeshwari West to Goregaon MTNL at SV Road Goregaon west.
Time : 02.58 pm
Experience: The bike had no registration number plate on the rear side. During the journey, the rider jumped 3 signals and he drove quite fast. He had covered the speedometer with his mobile phone. He had no helmet for the pillion rider.

mid-day's Shirish Vaktania a bike taxi at Kandivali W. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Ride No. 8

Service: Uber
Distance covered: 2.1 km in 10 mins
Rider Name: Ganesh (MH 04 HL 8486)
Ride: Kandivali West to Malad subway West
Time: 01.01 pm
Experience: The rider didn't have a helmet for the customer. He seemed in a great hurry to complete the trip though he didn't ride very fast. In case of traffic, he entered the wrong side of the road. The rider said he does around 25 rides a day and breaks rules to take up the next trip.

A bike taxi during a ride in Jogeshwari East on Friday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Ride No. 9

Service: Uber
Distance covered: 3.12 km in 13 mins
Rider Name: Arif Hasan Aftab Hasan Sayad (MH 47 BC 0611)
Ride: Aarey Colony, Goregaon East to Patel Estate, Jogeshwari West
Time : 02.49 pm
Experience: Though the rider followed rules, he kept chewing gutka and spat on the road more than once. He also had a helmet only for himself. He told the correspondent that he is a plumber and has registered with the bike taxi aggregator for some extra income. He followed all the instructions.

‘We won't spare violators'

Traffic Joint Commissioner of Police Rajvardhan Sinha told mid-day, "We are taking strict action against traffic violators. We are regularly taking action against the violators who are breaking signals, overspeeding, using wrong ways and resorting to many more traffic violations. If we find any such violators, we will take strict action against them."

Service providers did not respond

Uber and Rapido did not respond till the time of going to press. We will update the online version of this report if they respond.