While the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had approved to operate bike taxis in urban areas across the state a month ago, the government has not yet issued an GR for the implementation of the same, as per reports.
With the implementation of bike taxi services, businesses like Uber, Ola, and Rapido are expected to benefit. Therefore, auto-rickshaw associations are against the move. They have questioned the government’s ability to regulate bike taxis. They have also claimed that private taxis operate without restrictions, while autorickshaw drivers have to get permits.
There are already 28 lakh two-wheelers in Mumbai, sources stated. Hence, the concerns have been raised regarding the these bike taxis could have a significant impact on additional traffic.
It is pertinent to note that last year, the Bombay High Court (HC) stopped Rapido's bike taxi services in Maharashtra. The government then established a committee to examine the situation and create regulations for two-wheeler bike taxis.
As per the committee's guidelines, bike taxis will be allowed within a 10 km radius in Mumbai and a 5 km radius in other cities. Each bike must have GPS capability, and aggregators will have to register and provide basic training for bike pilots.
App-based aggregators will also have to pay a registration fee of INR 1 lakh and maintain a fleet of a minimum 50 two-wheelers. For aggregators with more than 10,000 vehicles, the fee will be INR 5 lakh. The cost of renting a bike taxi has not been made public yet.
Goa was the first state to offer bike taxi services. Bike taxi services are currently available in Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Karnataka.
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