New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the ban on bike taxi services in the national capital, dealing a blow to aggregators like Ola, Rapido and Uber. The vacation bench of the apex court put a stay on the Delhi High Court order which had allowed these services to operate until Delhi government formulates the final policy on the issue.
In February this year, the Delhi Transport Department issued a notification banning the bike taxi services provided by popular aggregators like Ola, Uber and Rapido. The decision by the Delhi government to not allow these services came after a similar ban was imposed in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra first to revoke bike taxi service licenses
The matter first came to light in Maharashtra when Pune Regional Transport Office refused to give license to Rapido for providing bike taxi services. A challenge to the order was dismissed by the Bombay High Court, with the court observing that the firm can’t be allowed to operate without having appropriate license. Supreme Court also refused to give relief to the company in the case.
So why are aggregators facing challenges in running bike taxi services?
After the notification to stop the operation of bike taxis was introduced in the national capital, Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra had told Outlook Business in February that the way bike taxis were operating in national capital was not acceptable. According to Kundra, lack of safety and risk of pollution were among the reasons for introducing the ban on these services. "Most of the bike taxis are second-hand or third-hand vehicles that are highly polluting and the [cab hailing] platforms do not conduct any checks on this," he added.
Use of non-transport vehicles for commercial purpose
One of the primary concerns raised by the Delhi government was the use of non-transport vehicles for commercial activity without having commercial numbers. The transport department called the use of two-wheelers for commercial purposes a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Similar concerns were raised by the Maharashtra government in its notification on the use of non-transport vehicles for such services. The government had observed in its notification, “The use of non-transport vehicles (including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers) as transport vehicles is on the rise enormously and raises serious practical and security concerns of the passengers and which may cause serious threat to the road safety of general public and passengers at large.”
All non-transport vehicles meant for private use are given white number plates while commercial vehicles receive yellow number plates.
Policy to regulate bike taxi services
Both Delhi and Maharashtra governments have said that they are working on a policy which will regulate bike taxi services. Delhi government told the apex court that the final policy on the issue will be formulated by July this year. The Maharashtra government constituted a six-member panel in April to work on draft rules for the operation of web and app-based taxi aggregators. It is expected to submit its recommendations within three months.
