GUWAHATI: After Assam’s Transport Department suspended Rapido bike taxi service in Guwahati on Saturday, many citizens of the city have expressed their resentment over the move.
The service was suspended for not having valid documents to operate in the state.
On the other hand, the move has triggered anger among the citizens of Guwahati as they feel it will create severe inconvenience in their day-to-day life.
“I have been using Rapido service for almost one year to attend my classes. Its charges are reasonable. I don’t know why the government has banned the service,” said a university student of the city.
“I leave office at night when city buses are no longer available. Therefore, I have to depend on Rapido. Before taking such steps, government authorities should improve the public transport system in Guwahati,” said a woman who works at a private company.
“Bike taxi service is comparatively cheap. It also saves time. The decision to suspend the service will create lot of inconvenience for us,” she added.
The service of Bengaluru based bike taxi application was flagged off by Guwahati Development Department minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya in December, 2018.
“It was flagged off by a minister of the Assam Government. Why the company was given permission to start its service? Why Transport Department has taken so long time to act against it. It is really mysterious,” said a citizen in condition of anonymity.
“The government should increase the number of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses in Guwahati. The public transport service in the city is really terrible. Therefore, people have to depend on application-based taxi service,” said a city-based journalist.
