With aim to stop bike taxis in Delhi, govt to launch aggregator policy soon

A day after warning bike taxis against plying on Delhi roads, the government has announced that it will soon come up with a comprehensive cab aggregator policy for all kind of vehicles. On Tuesday, Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister of Delhi, said that a policy for two-wheelers and three-wheelers for commercial purposes will be rolled out in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act. Earlier, the government earned bike taxi operators in Delhi that a fine of up to ₹one lakh will be slapped against those found flouting the norms.

Besides four-wheeler cabs like Ola or Uber, there are app-based companies who offer bike taxi services. It is a relatively affordable ride option compared to four-wheeler cabs. Gahlot said, the policy will also spell out rules regarding four-wheelers as well. On Tuesday, he took to social media saying, “Aggregator policy for 2W (two-wheelers), 3W (three-wheelers) and 4W (four-wheelers) is in its final stage and will be rolled out soon helping them to apply for grant of license under the new scheme."

A public notice issued by the Transport Department read, “It has been brought to the notice that two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration mark/number are being used to carry passengers on hire or reward which is purely commercial operation and in violation of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and rules made thereunder." Two-wheelers, if used for commercial purposes, is a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It could lead to a fine of ₹5,000. Consequent violations will attract fine of ₹10,000 and imprisonment of up to a year. The licence of the driver could also be suspended for three months.

Delhi is among the latest states in India to crack down on illegal commercial use of two-wheelers. Earlier, the Supreme Court backed Maharashtra government's decision to grant licence to Rapido, one of the more popular bike taxi operators in India. The top court said that aggregators cannot operate without a valid licence after amendments made to the Motor Vehicles Act four years ago.

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