Bike taxis could have given last-mile connectivity a hyper-boost in the city. But just when they ran into trouble with the transport department, App-based bike-rental services have rushed in to fill that space.
In the thick of this happening market is iRyd, a startup launched by three young chartered accountants with 75 Honda Activa bikes. As they are set to expand to 500 vehicles by September, many more players have jumped in with hourly/daily rentals of bikes that range from the utility to premium. For a few hundred rupees, city commute could be a breeze without actually owning a vehicle.
Rising demand from migrants, students and tourists has pitchforked operators such as RentOnGo, RentNZip, Wicked Ride, WheelStreet to the centre stage of urban mobility. If Activa is the preferred option for utility rides, the luxury fleet boasts of the Harleys, Ducatis, Triumphs, Kawasakis and Benellis.
Buoyed by the success of their ventures, these mobility startups are now exploring markets beyond Bengaluru. Kicking off in January with only 20 bikes, iRyd recently ventured into the Mysuru market with a pilot fleet of six bikes.
GPS-tracked
iRyd founders Rohan Arinaya, Yashvant Nijagal and Shashank Danthi had quickly grasped why the traditional bike-rentals were not picking up. Commuters were not ready to fork out those hefty security deposits. So they equipped every bike with GPS-trackers. All that the commuter had to do was book a bike through the app, show their original driver’s licence and scoot away.
Offering luxury motorcycles on rent, Wicked Ride had soon realised the huge potential in the utility bike rentals. Out they came with Apna Ride, a rental service that now offers Activa, Vespa and B-Twin bicycles.
More pickup points
To counter the growing competition, iRyd wants to increase its sites across the city. Arinaya explained that a user could now pick up a bike from seven locations and drop it off at the iRyd site closest to his/her destination. The bikes could be taken on hourly or daily rental from Koramangala, City Railway Station, Indiranagar, BTM Layout, New BEL Road, Basavanagudi or MG Road.
Rentals on utility bikes offered by most players range between Rs 300 and Rs 350 per day. For premium bikes, this could go up to Rs 4,000. Intense competition could push the prices down and trigger other free services. iRyd, for instance, includes fuel price in the overall rental. Said Arinaya: “For two-wheelers taken on hourly basis, the petrol price is on us. In case of daily rentals, we will fill the tank for the whole day.”