Maha Revs Up For Bike Taxis; Rickshaw Organisations Oppose Decision

Almost a month after the Maharashtra government gave the green light to operate bike taxis in urban areas, including Mumbai and appointed a committee to study the feasibility of bike taxis in the state, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has finally approved for the implementation. However, the government resolution (GR) was not issued yet.

This decision provides relief to companies like Rapido, Ola and Uber. However, auto-rickshaw organisations oppose the decision. Shashank Rao, president of the Autorickshaw Chalak-Malak Sanghtana Sanyukt Kruti Samiti, said, “The government committee has given a green signal for bike taxis, but our organisation continues to oppose it for many reasons. Auto-rickshaw drivers already struggle to earn enough money, and the government does not help them. In this situation, permitting bike taxis is unnecessary.”

“The government cannot control bike taxis. They have failed to regulate aggregators like Ola and Uber, so how will they manage bike taxis? Autorickshaw drivers need permits to purchase their vehicles, but private taxis use their vehicles for business without any regulation,” Rao said. Furthermore, this decision threatens the livelihood of rickshaw taxi drivers.

Last year, the Bombay High Court suspended Rapido’s bike taxi services in Maharashtra. Subsequently, the government formed a committee to analyse the situation and formulate guidelines for two-wheeler bike taxis. According to the committee’s guidelines, bike taxis will be allowed within a radius of 10km in Mumbai and 5km in other cities. All bikes must be GPS-enabled, and registration and basic training for bike pilots will be mandatory for the aggregators. Furthermore, app-based aggregators will need to have a fleet of at least 50 two-wheelers, with a registration fee of Rs1 lakh. For aggregators with a fleet of over 10,000, the fee would be Rs5 lakh, according to the draft rules framed by the state government. Meanwhile, rates for hiring bike taxis have not been disclosed yet.

Goa was the first state to introduce bike taxi services. Goa attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists who often prefer two-wheeler taxis to navigate the narrow roads. However, it remains to be seen whether bike taxis will be successful in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai. Currently, Mumbai has 28 lakh two-wheelers, and if bike taxis are introduced, the increased number of vehicles on the road could significantly affect traffic. Currently, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Karnataka have bike taxi services.