Islamabad and Rawalpindi residents are using bike services like Bykea, Careem, and Indrive instead of vehicles and taxis due to skyrocketing fuel prices and inflation. People have also blamed the lack of decent public transport in the twin cities.
According to a report from Dawn, bike-hailing services in the twin cities have hurt taxicab revenue. Cab drivers dislike this “mushroom growth” of bike-hailing service due to being much cheaper.
A taxi driver told the scribe that, before bike-hailing services, he earned a significant amount daily to support his family. He lamented that now he can barely find any customers.
Mostly, people ride these bikes daily to work, school, and university. Recently, women have also started using bike-hailing services as well, prompting a sizeable increase in the user base.
The report underlines that bike-hailing startups have hired hundreds of individuals at above-minimum wage. Aslam Khan, a motorcyclist, remarked that most people chose this service because people favor it. He claimed riders earned Rs. 2,000 per day. “But sometimes, we earn Rs. 2,500 during a day,” he added.
