TIRUCHY: While the growth of bike-taxis has proved to be a boon for commuters, hundreds of autorickshaw drivers are ruing lost business. A few autorickshaw drivers claimed that from the earlier 20 rides a day, they are now making just five trips daily..
Autorickshaws have always been the transportation of choice, but the entry of bike and private taxis has seen them now take a back seat. Though regular taxis made a small dent in the business of autorickshaws, bike-taxis have simply overwhelmed them, said auto drivers. "Our profession went into decline the moment private taxi companies started emerging. However, taxis took away only the long-distance rides and we continued to have customers for shorter trips. But this introduction of bike-taxis has totally taken away even the short last-mile connectivity rides from bus stands and railway stations to neighbourhoods," said Gajendran, an autorickshaw driver from the city.
Drivers said they have even registered with private cab aggregators to keep a hold on the market. "We even tried our hand in linking our services with private cab-aggregators. Initially, there was a balance in demand between cars and autos but the introduction of bikes has totally changed the dynamics.
Finding five rides each day is itself now a stupendous task," said Gopalakrishnan, an auto driver based in Mannarpuram.
Bike-taxi drivers stated there is an increasing demand for their mode of transport due to their feasibility and cheap cost. "Several factors, including time, cost and feasibility favour bike-taxis. Apart from customers, it works very well for us as a secondary job. We easily get 20-30 rides every day," said a bike-taxi driver. Meanwhile, the Transport department and police stressed bike-taxis are illegal. According to officials, there are no provisions in the State which allows the public to use two-wheelers for commercial purposes. "There are no provisions in the State for companies to run bike-taxis. We are unable to nab them for violations as they do not have any unique identity. They are just common public, riding in civilian clothes. Trying to nab these drivers for violations is a very tough task," they said.