WB govt makes commercial registration mandatory for app bikes. Details here

The West Bengal government has made it mandatory for app-based bike taxis to have commercial registration plates. This restricts the app-based bike taxis from plying with private registration plates, which is common in the state capital Kolkata and other districts. The government also said that it would organise special camps in different districts for the bike owners to avail of commercial registration at an amount of ₹1,000, reports Anandabazar.

West Bengal government's transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty reportedly met the app-based cab aggregators on Tuesday, where it was decided that no app-bikes will be allowed to ply with private registration plates in the state anymore. Interestingly, this comes at a time when app-cab aggregators like Ola, Uber and Rapido have been asked to stop operating their bike taxis on the road in Delhi without commercial permits.

Currently, while some app-based bike taxis ply on roads in Kolkata and the districts of the state with commercial registration plates, most bike taxis operate with conventional private registration plates, as yellow number plates were not mandatory to date. With the new rule enforced, the owners of these bike taxis have to opt for commercial registration. The government claims that this move would ensure employment generation for a large number of people while simultaneously bringing revenue to the government's coffer.

The West Bengal government estimates that there are around 30,000 bike taxis operating in the state through the app-based cab aggregator platforms. A large number of these bike taxis don't have commercial registration, claims the state government. These bike taxis run with private registration, which would change with the new rule, making commercial registration mandatory.

The report also claims that to date, commercially registered bike taxis have been able to offer their service in only three districts: Kolkata, urban areas of Howrah and South 24 Parganas. The state government has increased that circle by adding North 24 Parganas and Hooghly to the list.