Feb 24, 2023
By: Sourabh JainThe Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has banned bike taxis from operating in the national capital.
Credit: BCCL
The affected services include Uber, Ola, and Rapido, among others. These apps offered bike taxis as an affordable option for solo travelers.
Credit: BCCL
The Delhi government has said that bike taxis violate existing laws, which prevent private vehicles from being used for commercial purposes.
Credit: Canva
The Delhi government has announced a fine of ₹5,000 for first-time violators, and repeat offenders could face a fine of ₹10,000 and up to one year of imprisonment. The driver’s license could also be suspended for at least three months.
Credit: Canva
Service providers such as Uber and Ola could face a higher fine of up to ₹1,00,000 under the Motor Vehicles Act if they are found offering bike taxi services.
Credit: Canva
According to a report by Economic Times, officials are posing as decoy customers to catch violators and fine them.
Credit: BCCL
Delhi’s Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has said that the government is working on a new aggregator policy, under which companies will be mandated to onboard electric two-wheelers to offer bike taxi services.
Credit: BCCL
According to a February 23 report by Business Standard, “bike taxi operators have approached the government with a compromise solution, requesting the state to allow them to operate and giving them time to convert their vehicles to electric by 2025-26.”
Credit: Canva
“Companies have asked for a level playing field when it comes to the timeline for conversion to electric between white label bike drivers who use their bike for ride-hailing services and those who use it for last-mile delivery of e-commerce products,” the report added.
Credit: Canva
“Around 10-12 million trips are undertaken by bike-taxis every week and Delhi accounts for a fourth of them”, as per the report. The report adds that out of over 5,00,000 bike taxi drivers in the country, 1,20,000 are based in Delhi.
Credit: BCCL