Baxi, one of india’s first motorbike taxi service providing company, has announced that it will add over 1000 Baxis within a week. The new bikes however, will run on the ride-sharing model — instead of the usual taxi service — and that too, on a part-time basis using white number plates (standard for common vehicles in India).
Baxi has taken this decision after Haryana government’s approval for the ride-sharing industry to run white number plate bikes along with commercial motorbike taxis with yellow number plates. The company will thus — with addition go these new ones — will operate three times the current fleet in Gurgaon alone.
Complimenting Haryana government officials, Ashutosh Johri, Baxi Founder, said,
We are really happy with the Haryana government’s approval for white number plate bikes to become a part of ride-sharing services in the state. This lowers the entry barrier and will allow bike taxi service providers to add more fleet to the ground, making last-mile connectivity simpler and quicker for people.
Last-mile connectivity is a huge problem across India and hence it’s a big enough market for several players to function to address this issue. Baxi has always worked closely with the Haryana government, initially to bring change to the Indian Motor Vehicle Act and allow bike taxis and then in waiting to add ride-sharing services until other companies had worked with the government to include white number plate bikes. We’ve always been clear about working with the government closely and will be offering our ride-sharing services on a part-time basis so private individuals can share costs. It’s a win-win situation for the users and that is what matters.
Founded in December last year, Baxi recently crossed over 1L customers riding as pillions on its bikes, in a matter of 110 days.
The company has also developed a non-data app that enables users with an Android smartphone to use the Baxi app without a data connection. With this innovation, the Baxi app is the first and only taxi-booking app in the world that functions without a data pack or internet connection.
Currently, it is finalizing regulation requirements with the concerned government agencies to launch its service in Uttar Pradesh and is all set to launch in Noida and Ghaziabad in the coming weeks.
