The Maharashtra government has warned e-bike aggregators such as Ola, Uber, and Rapido to strictly follow government rules or face strict action. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said on Monday, May 17, that the government will not compromise on passenger safety, driver verification, or transparency in transport operations.
The warning came after the Transport Department held a high-level review meeting to assess the functioning of e-bike service providers in the state. Officials discussed several issues during the meeting. These included police verification of drivers, registration procedures, licence status, and possible loopholes in app management systems.
Sarnaik said the state government is preparing a detailed policy that will allow only fully electric two-wheelers to operate under e-bike services. He said companies using petrol-powered bikes could face immediate blacklisting. Drivers will have to submit a police verification report before joining any aggregator platform.
The government is also planning to give regional transport offices access to aggregator applications for real-time monitoring. This would allow authorities to track vehicles attached to each platform.
Officials also raised concerns about drivers working for multiple aggregator companies on the same day. The government is now considering a rule that may restrict drivers to operating for only one platform per day to address security concerns.
According to Sarnaik, aggregator apps may soon be required to display complete details for passengers. These details would include permit information, vehicle registration number, driver name, driver photograph, and a panic button for emergencies.
The latest action comes days after the Maharashtra State Cyber Department sent notices to Apple and Google on Friday. The notices asked the companies to remove and disable access to Ola, Uber, and Rapido from their app stores over alleged illegal bike taxi operations.
However, the move was put on hold by Saturday. A senior cyber department official said authorities were trying to find a way to stop bike taxi operations without affecting cab, auto, and other services offered through the same apps.
The official said the government was looking for a solution that would stop only bike taxi activities without blocking entire ride-hailing platforms. The Office of the Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber, had invoked Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to seek removal of the apps from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
In November 2020, Rapido started bike taxi operations in Maharashtra without official government approval. At that time, then transport commissioner Avinash Dhakne said the company’s application had been rejected. He had asked the company to submit a proposal before the State Transport Authority for further review.
In January 2023, the Bombay High Court criticised Rapido for operating without a licence and ordered the company to suspend its bike taxi services in Maharashtra within one week.
Following this, the Maharashtra government issued a resolution banning the use of private two-wheelers as transport vehicles. Rapido later challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court of India, only to be dismissed and sent back to the Bombay High Court.
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