Yulu seeks to improve bike design amid safety reports

• There's always work to be done to aim safety said Yulu founder Amit Gupta.
• Yulu was part of the Republic day showcase for Startup India.
• Yulu bikes have been reported to cause mayhem on the roads ultimately leading to safety issues.
• In September of last year, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tied up with Yulu, a rented bike-sharing network, to provide last-mile-transit for the commuters.

In March, though, the people who applauded the micro-mobility venture for their creative and quick solution to end congestion and last-mile transportation problems have now begun to question Yulu regarding safety and security.

A Hindustan Times report stated that the Yulu bikes have been dangerous and have been creating a fuss for Delhi's traffic police since the business entered the country's capital in September 2019. Taj Hassan, Delhi Police (traffic) special commissioner, also expressed his concerns regarding minors using Yulu bikes without helmets.

Taj Hassan, Special Commissar of Delhi Police (traffic), told HT last month that his personnel in areas such as Connaught Place, India Gate, Rajpath, Khan Market, etc. were' concerned about minors, even school children in uniforms, riding Yulu bikes lacking helmets.'

"These bikes are mostly used by people for joyrides and do not serve the real purpose of last-mile connectivity (from the Metro stations). Additionally, no Yulu crew is present at the docks/bike stands to either check users ' age or identity cards or even advise them what is appropriate according to traffic regulations. So we thought we had to speak to officials at the organization, "Hassan said.

To date, 450 Yulu bikes have been deployed at docks outside 35 Delhi Metro stations including Mandi House, Barakhamba Road Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan, Khan Market, Munirka and IIT, which can be hailed anytime using its mobile app.

Yulu engages to fix security concerns

Talking to Inc42, Amit Gupta, founder, and CEO of Yulu admits that whatever was published was no doubt true to the word but he emphasized the magnitude at which things were happening.

He stated that Yulu bikes were mounted on bicycle frames and that the' Miracle' bike's top speed was a mere 25 km per hour. So they don't fall under the Motor Vehicle Act. The manufacturer has indicated that the bikes are safe and the International Center for Automotive Technology (ICAT) approves them based on the group to which they belong.


"All safety checks that are required for vehicles of this class have been reviewed. Indeed in India, without formal certification no vehicle can be legally on the roads, "Gupta said.

Gupta also pointed out that there are always more improvements to be made and the organization has also concentrated on that. Although the Miracle bikes are electric bicycles, the company also found that several other features that were not part of the original requirement are needed after going on the road.

Yulu motorcycles, for particular, have no indicator or backlight, either, they have a reflector on the back of the bike. Gupta reiterated that this has been taken into account by the company and will aim to integrate the lessons in the new bikes that it imports from Bajaj Auto.

Bring Your Own Helmet (#BYOH)

Yulu supervised two pilot projects in Pune, where they equipped the bike with a helmet for riders but the pilot project proved out to be a failure in terms of economic and sustainable points of view.

Gupta said,” When we asked people that why did they refrain to use helmets, they did not receive any encouraging responses. Some people had hygiene issues whereas some had styling issues. That's when the company started to endorse BYOH or Bring Your Own Helmet so people would never be able to point fingers at Yulu.

Increased Safety and Security Concerns

Gupta emphasized that although Yulu bikes are exempted by the Motor Vehicle Act, police officers are free to arrest anybody found to be in breach of the law. The founder noted that people around the globe are overwhelmed by it every time when a new product comes into the market. He also explained that the policy of the company does not require anyone under 16 to ride the bikes.

It is more about awareness and we enforcing the policy a little bit more strictly. And this whole thing will come down.

While we are seeing fewer electric bike hailing companies here in India, there are a bunch of them which have emerged in the US and expanded to several other countries which are as follows: Lime, Bird, Lyft, Jump, Skip and Spin. Jump, Lyft, Skip, and Spin. Recently, Jump, Lyft, Skip, and Spin won bids to deploy a combined total of up to 10,000 scooters in the city of Washington D.C. where the situation arose to roll out an e-scooter tender.