While Tygr is finding its footing in the cab service segment in Mumbai against giants like Uber and Ola, Tygr's founder and CEO Aditya Poddar said that the company is also planning to introduce two wheeler taxis in the city.
Key Highlights
- The government nod is yet to arrive for Mumbai bike taxis
- Tygr is working on availing the permission
- Tygr plans to expand to 10,000 cabs in Mumbai over the next months
Kolkata-based cab service aggregator Tygr forayed into Mumbai yesterday with a fleet of 5000 cabs in the city. While the start-up is finding its footing in the cab service segment against giants like Uber and Ola, Tygr's founder and CEO Aditya Poddar said that the company is also planning to introduce two wheeler taxis in the city. While the company aims to roll out the two wheeler taxi service at the earliest, it is waiting for the state rules to allow them to do so.
At present, operating a two-wheeler taxi service does not fall under the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Rules and hence cannot be allowed to be operated to ferry passengers. The absence of a statutory rule also means there is no clarity on fares and safety for passengers. That is why, while two-wheeler taxis have been introduced in other cities, it is yet to make its way to Mumbai. In fact, UberMOTO two wheeler taxis was introduced in Bangalore last year on a pilot basis but did not make way to the financial capital. Tygr did introduce two wheeler taxis in Kolkata earlier this year, while another firm K Bike Taxi also offers the service in the city. However, Tygr won't be the first company to introduce two wheeler taxis in Mumbai. In 2015, a start-up by the name of Hey Taxi! launched two wheeler taxis in the city, but had to shut the service down within a week of operations. The two wheeler taxis did not fall under the state's motor vehicle rules, which barred the start-up from offering the service. At the time, the city RTO had said that Mumbai presently did not need two wheeler taxis, considering there are already shared three wheelers and four wheeler cabs available. However, with steady demand and growing congestion in the city, the state might just look into amending the rule.
Already a popular concept in China, two wheeler taxis are seen as a cheaper and quicker alternative to conventional cabs and services. For customers on a clock, the service promises to offer easy access to congested places where cabs would be a hassle while also improving on last mile connectivity.
When asked about cannibalisation by two wheeler taxis over cabs, Poddar said that there will always be limited demand for two wheeler taxis. He further added that customers would want comfort over utility and thus will choose cabs. The monsoon season would be another period when demand for two wheeler taxis is expected to be low. However, when it comes to financial viability fort the two wheeler operator, Tygr plans to use the same two wheelers during odd hours to deliver goods within the city.
Tygr aims to provide complete logistics solution with access to cabs, three wheelers, delivery vehicles as well as an ambulance in one app. Cab owners need to subscribe for Rs. 500 and Tygr will provide customers at no extra cost. For the passenger hailing a cab via Tygr, there won't be any peak pricing and that, the company says, will keep the overall fares cheaper by 30 per cent over conventional cab aggregators.
