Bike taxi service: Other side of coin needs to be viewed, say riders

Sowmya Raju and Umar Sharieef | NT

Bengaluru: The recent incident where a female rider was sexually harassed by a bike taxi driver sparked outrage on social media.

The victim shared her story on Twitter, which led many people to question the safety of those using these ride-hailing apps.

When News Trail contacted a spokesperson from Rapido's complaint cell, they acknowledged that it is difficult to provide counselling to all of their drivers, as many of them are parttime workers.

However, they stated that their policy is to issue a warning to any driver who receives a complaint and to dismiss them after a second complaint.

Following the recent incident of sexual harassment, Rapido's monthly active users (MAUs) in Bengaluru fell by 25 per cent in July 2023 compared to June 2023.

This represents a significant decline, from almost 1,00,000 riders in June to less than 75,000 in July. The recent incident of sexual harassment by a bike taxi rider has had an effect on the industry.

Many female riders are now hesitant to use bike taxis, and even male riders are feeling less safe. One bike taxi rider said that he is now afraid to pick up female customers after 9 pm.

He is worried that even a small misstep could be misconstrued as something else and get him into trouble. Another rider said that he has been driving bike taxis for over a year and has never had any problems.

However, he is now concerned about the safety of his female passengers. He now no longer converses with his customers and simply picks them up and safely drops them off at their destination.

The incident has also had a negative impact on the business of bike taxis. A number of riders have said that they have seen a decline in the number of bookings since the incident, especially at night.

Another student rider who rides a bike taxi after college hours in and around Koramangala to support his education said he has always been respectful of his customers.

He usually only accepts rides at night, it has been difficult for him since he is noticing that people are now preferring to take cabs or autos instead.

While the recent incident that came to light was isolated to one rider, several riders who are trying to generate an income for themselves are facing issues. While there have been instances of women feeling unsafe, there is also the other side of the coin which needs to be seen.

The student rider feels that it is unfair to punish all riders for the actions of one person.

He hopes that the public will not judge all bike taxi riders based on the actions of a few bad apples.