Uber Restarts Bike Taxi Service In Bangalore

App based Taxi service Uber is restarting its UberMoto bike taxi service as a bike pooling service in Bangalore.

Instead of a bike taxi service, the new UberMOTO will allow customers to share a ride with other commuters. Uber has stated that it will not be making any money during the pilot period and would share data on customer usage with the government to justify its utility to decongest roads.

In a blog post Uber stated, "To clarify, the uberMOTO service was launched to operate at cost only - effectively encouraging bikers to share the cost of a ride and eliminating the need for additional permits. Uber will also not charge any service fee for the period of this pilot."

However, the Karnataka government doesn't seem that happy about Uber restarting its bike service. The transport department still maintains that Uber will have to get permission from the Road Transport Authority to ply their bikes on Bangalore roads.

Speaking to the Business Standard, Ramegowda, Karnataka's Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety said, "Even if they're not making money or they are doing it for charity, they have to have a permit. We are in the process of framing laws for taxi aggregators in the state. If they approach the RTA and get the necessary permits, we can even think about framing similar laws around bike taxis."