The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Tuesday, July 9, announced that the VOGO e-bikes services in Mumbai, which provided last-mile connectivity from the bus stops, have been taken off the roads.
It is pertinent to note that nearly the civic transport body introduced 1,000 single-seat e-bikes services two years ago and 850 to 875 bikes were operated on a daily basis.
Chalo Mobility, which acquired the bike rental startup VOGO in 2022 and was providing the service.
The private operator withdrew the e-bikes, which many commuters found convenient for short-distance rides, especially late at night, without intimating BEST two months ago.
While the transport body have not been provided any specific reasons, it has come to light that there were complaints about children or under-age youngsters using the bikes for joyride, haphazard parking in front of bus stops and poor maintenance, among others. However, many commuters were nonetheless finding the bikes a convenient mode of transport.
A BEST spokesperson said the operator withdrew e-bikes from Mumbai roads in May and the transport body learnt it through the operational data shared by it. BEST had not asked the company to stop the service. The withdrawal did not cause any financial loss to BEST, and it has no plans to rope in any other e-bike service provider as of now.
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