Delhi government suspends bike taxi service

Officials said the transport department had begun Enforcement exercises and confiscating bike taxis operating without permits.

The Transport Department of Delhi Govt said that app-based bike aggregators would face problems. They added, bike taxis are not allowed in Delhi. Furthermore, the statement stated, use of personal bikes as taxis is a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. Further, App-based services will have to stop the service or face Rs. 1 lakh challan, said the Transport Dept.

"According to the current rules and regulations, the use of bike taxis is not allowed in Delhi. But we have witnessed that there are some app-based aggregators that use personal bikes. These services are in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988," the senior official said.

Cautioning aggregators, the Department of Transportation issued a public notice on Sunday. The notice stated: "It has been brought to the attention that two-wheeled vehicles bearing a non-commercial (private) registration plate/number are being used to transport passengers for hire or reward, which is a purely commercial operation. Further, it is in contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and regulations made there under."

Later on Monday, Transportation Minister Kailash Galot tweeted that "The aggregator-policy for 2W (two-wheelers), 3W (three-wheelers) and 4W (four-wheelers) is in its final stages and will soon be rolled out to help them with the new licence."

The official asked if there are any provisions for obtaining a licence to register two-wheeled vehicles to operate as a bike taxi; the official said: "There are no such provisions under the current rule. Taxi services are services that have a driver and more than one passenger. However, only four-wheeled taxis, auto rickshaws and e-rickshaws are allowed, but not bikes”.

There are certain rules and obligations for the operation of taxi services, such as:

1. The vehicle must have a registration plate
2. Yellow licence plates
3. PSV badge, which is issued after a police check
4. Drivers must complete behavioural sessions

In addition, women's safety is paramount in such services. There are mandatory provisions for a panic button, but none is on bikes.

Officials said the department began an Enforcement drive. Further to confiscate bike taxis operating without valid licences. In all such cases, the enforcement team will first issue a notice stating the reason, and then fines and action will be taken, officials said.

The first offence is punishable following Article 192 of the Law. This will imply a fine which can be a maximum Rs. 5,000. Further, for a second or subsequent offence, the offender can be imprisoned for up to one year with a fine of up to Rs 10,000, along with the confiscation of the vehicle. In addition to the above, the driving licence will be suspended for at least three months.

In addition, the Department of Transportation said they noticed that some digital platforms facilitate such transactions by offering reservations through the App, thereby acting as an aggregator, in violation of the provision of Article 93, which is punishable by a fine of up to 1 lakh, according to section 193(2) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

"Accordingly, it is ordered to immediately stop such activities in order to avoid prosecution, punishment, etc.," the notice says.

Bike taxis popularised during and after the pandemic. When public transport such as the Metro and buses operated with limited capacity. App-based aggregators have been recognised as Uber, Ola, Rapido and others. Furthermore, they don't respond to calls and messages.

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