How one man’s passion for bikes gave Gurgaon M Taxi, its first two-wheeler taxi service

Arunabh Madhur spent 15 years of his life working in brand, media and digital content marketing for a reputed media company, but it was his passion for bikes that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to.

“It also meant taking one chunk of the problems we as individuals face in our country and trying my best to solve it. As luck would have it, the problem coincided with my passion as well,” he says.

And, thus was born M-Taxi. Gurgaon’s first two-wheeler taxi hailing service’s aim was to provide last-mile connectivity at a time when traffic and an auto driver’s whims rule the roads.



Today, this company clocks around 400 rides per day with just 20 bikes, and all under a span of 12 hours.

It’s exceptional progress for a bike-hailing service which was formally launched in Gurgaon during Car Free Day on December 1 last year with just 10 bikes. Though, it’s also true that the work had begun much earlier.

Coming back to the man behind it, Madhur quit his job back in June 2014, and from there followed his brief stint at a startup focusing on branded content which unfortunately didn’t pan out the way he’d intended. It was then he decided to focus on something he was better versed with.

Being a passionate biker himself, the idea of doing something related to bikes was always at the back of his head, aided with the fact that India is the largest manufacturer and consumer base for two-wheelers, however, he gave it a serious thought only after he called it quits at his first startup.



He realised that last mile connectivity posed a huge gap in our country and the way to success was to allow it within the least possible time and money.

“I was starting to understand how two-wheelers could be integrated in the mix and soon started my research. Getting the legalities took a fair amount of time, but here we are now,” he adds with a smile.

Madhur also observed how the need of the hour was to double up the supply of a mode of transport that would connect individuals from their metro/bus stops to their workplaces or homes.

And, this is where he gave his M-Taxi an edge over his rivals. It won’t only be an app-only service, he decided.



So, if you use it, you will know that apart from booking a ride on the app, you can also hail a bike when you spot it outside a metro station. There’s another option - Call the toll-free number and book one.

“You don’t get this convenience with an Ola or Uber. If you don’t book your ride with the Ola/Uber app, you can’t hail a ride. With M-Taxi, that’s not an issue.”

But this was not the only problem he addressed. Some other issues like Ola/Uber's overpriced fares, auto drivers refusing to go by the meter, safety concerns and being stuck in traffic jams were also taken care of by Arunabh.

His two-wheeler taxi service not only evades these issues, but also manages to make the journey much more economical for the passenger.

“Our rides are priced very economically. You pay Rs 20 for the first 3 kms and Rs 5 for every kilometre thereon. There is no additional tax or money cut for the time taken for your journey. Additionally, we also provide helmets which cover your full face, tissues and disposable passenger caps for added security of our passengers,” Madhur explains.




Safety is undoubtedly a priority for him and he doesn’t leave a second to stress on it. “Being a rider myself, I’m aware of the injury points and one of the areas where you get the worst injuries is your head. So, I have ensured that we put in extra resources to get the specific helmets that cover your whole head,” he says.

It’s for the same reason that the services of M-taxi are available only from 8 am to 8 pm. “See, we’re very clear that we’re focusing on last-mile connectivity and short distances. We only cover distances between 2-10 kms. I personally would not want any passenger to be alone on a bike-crossing, highways or empty roads after 8 pm. It’s not safe. ”

He also believes since bikes are an open service, there is very little chance of something going awry with no one noticing.

And, when I prod him further on what he has to say about people assuming that bike transport is more dangerous, especially for women, he has an answer ready.

“What happened to the girl from Snapdeal? She was in an auto and not a bike. Was that really safe?”

He then went on to ascertain that the company is working with an NGO to ensure that can get women riders on board too- just so that they can make the experience more comfortable for women.

There are also plans of launching the service in Faridabad next month, integrating the Paytm wallet on the app and clearing out legalities hoping to make two-wheeler taxi services operate in Delhi and Noida- all this while being in the process of raising another round of funding and showcasing M-taxi at Tomorrow Land in Singapore, the global launchpad for startups.

When Arunabh Madhur says that M-taxi is your personal time-saver, be rest assured he isn't kidding.

Image credit: M-taxi