Delhi: The Indian capital of Delhi has banned motorbike taxis from its streets, a blow to companies like Uber, Ola, and Rapido.
According to a government notice, using private two-wheelers to transport passengers for hire is against Indian law.
According to the notice, “digital providers… facilitating such operations” could face fines of up to 100,000 rupees ($1,208; £1,005).
The companies have yet to respond.
In a major setback to ride sharing platforms Ola, Uber and Rapido, the Delhi Transport Department on February 20 issued a public notice to stop plying their bike taxi services effective immediately.#Ola #Uber #Rapido #BikeTaxi #Bike pic.twitter.com/b3P7UPwe40
— News18 (@CNNnews18) February 20, 2023
The transport department also stated that violating this will result in a fine of Rs 5,000 for the first offence and a fine of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment for the second or subsequent offence.
“In addition, the driver’s driving licence will be suspended for a minimum of three years,” the notice stated.
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Thousands of Indians use cheap motorbike taxis every day to get around slow traffic. They also employ hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom transport passengers on their personal motorcycles.
However, according to India’s Motor Vehicles Act, private vehicles cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Few media sources interviewed some Delhi drivers who said they would struggle to make ends meet without the extra income.
According to the notice, the digital platforms (Ola, Uber, and Rapido apps) that are facilitating this operation will be fined Rs 1 lakh under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The decision comes just weeks after the Supreme Court denied relief to Rapido, a bike, taxi, and auto aggregator that had challenged a Bombay High Court order ordering the company to cease operations in Maharashtra immediately because it did not have a licence to operate bike, taxi, or rickshaw services.
