KOCHI: Kerala has decided to allow ‘rent-a-bike’ in the state, allowing everyone with five motorbikes and a small office, to be given the license to rent the vehicle for a fee. The decision will legalise the business, which is operated by some players without the government approval.
Last month, a meeting of senior officers held at the behest of State Transport Authority (STA) at Thiruvananthapuram agreed that ‘rent-a-bike’ be given the nod, which will help the tourists coming into the state to enjoy the local flavours and culture at their own pace.
“Three weeks back a meeting was held by the State Transport Authority where we have taken an in-principal decision to allow the rent-a-bike facility in Kerala,” Rajeev Puthalath, joint transport commissioner & secretary, STA, told Express.
He said the government has received 10-15 applications from various companies for starting the rent-a-bike business in Kerala. Many states including Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharastra have a thriving bike rentals business.
“Here in Kerala too some companies are operating rent-a-bike scheme though it’s illegal now. We now plan to legalise the business,” Rajeev said. As per the plan, anyone who has at least 5 bikes and an office in Kerala is eligible to get the license to operate, he explained.
“Even now you can see foreigners in scooters and motorbikes in our cities. They take these bikes after reaching here on rent. But this is not allowed legally in the state,” he said, adding that the government hopes to encourage entrepreneurship by opening up the sector. Several startups have entered the bike rental platforms in other states, and their names include WheelStreet, WickedRide, RentoMojo, ZipHop, DriveonRent etc. It is not known if these are among the companies which have applied for starting their operations in Kerala. Under the scheme, which is popular in other states, the customers can hire a bike for 4 hours to even a month; and the bike on offer include premium models such as Harley Davidson, Royal Enfield and Duke KTM.Rajeev said the bikes on rents will spot black number plates with yellow boards in Kerala.The state had allowed ‘Rent-a-Cab’ in Kerala and companies such as AVS Cars and Trans Cars had entered the fray.
Govt decides against bike taxis
Meanwhile, the government has decided not to allow bike taxis in the state fearing backlash from the autorickshaw drivers. Many bike taxi companies including UberMoto and Thiruvananthapuram-based IGLU Innovation were looking to launch their bike taxis in Kerala. “There is a strong view that bike taxis will badly affect the auto-rickshaw sector. Hence, we have decided not to allow this business in Kerala,” the joint transport commissioner said.
States like Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Telangana, had allowed bike taxis in their roads by amending the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, which did not allow two-wheelers to operate as contract carriage.
IGLU Innovation’s founder and CEO Kannan Parakunnil, who had discussions with the senior officers of MVD in Thiruvananthapuram, said his company had submitted a proposal to the government nearly two years back, and he was yet to hear from the government.“We are going ahead with other business plans, and shelving the bike taxi plans for the time being,” he said.