Maharashtra govt cancels provisional licences of Rapido, Uber, Ola bike taxis

The Maharashtra government has cancelled the provisional licences of several bike taxi service providers operating in Mumbai and surrounding areas after finding that they were running services without complying with the prescribed regulations Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik informed the Legislative Council on Monday that strict action will be taken against companies violating transport normsThe action comes amid increasing scrutiny of bike taxi operators in the state and concerns about compliance with safety regulations and licensing requirementsGovernment cancels provisional licences for noncomplianceResponding to a calling attention motion raised by MLC Sunil Shinde under Rule 93 Sarnaik said that the provisional licences issued to certain companies had been cancelled after authorities found irregularities in their operationsThe companies whose provisional permissions were withdrawn include Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd and ANI Technologies Pvt LtdAccording to the minister cases have been registered against firms that allegedly failed to follow the prescribed norms while operating bike taxi services in the Mumbai Metropolitan RegionMaharashtra introduced dedicated policy for ebike taxisSarnaik said that the state government had formulated a dedicated policy to regulate bike taxi services in line with the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 issued by the central governmentBased on these guidelines the Maharashtra cabinet approved a comprehensive framework on August 7 2024 allowing the introduction of bike taxi services in cities with populations exceeding one lakhFollowing the cabinet decision the government notified the Maharashtra EBike Taxi Rules 2024 which established strict operational requirements for bike taxi services in the stateOne of the key provisions of the policy mandates that all bike taxis must be fully electric vehicles aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable transport solutionsCompanies given temporary licences to meet requirementsUnder the new policy framework companies were initially granted provisional licences for a period of 30 days to begin operations while completing the necessary regulatory formalitiesDuring this period operators were expected to fulfil conditions related to vehicle registration safety compliance and licensing procedures before receiving permanent approvalHowever authorities found that some companies began operating services without completing the mandatory requirements prompting the transport department to interveneComplaints over accidents and safety concernsThe minister also noted that several complaints had been received from different areas regarding accidents involving bike taxi ridersConcerns related to womenrsquos safety were also raised by residents and lawmakers prompting authorities to examine the operations of bike taxi platforms more closelyIn response to these complaints the transport department issued notices to the companies concerned and filed police complaints in certain cases where violations were detectedEnforcement action against illegal bike taxi operationsThe transport department has directed all Regional and SubRegional Transport Offices across Maharashtra to take strict action against illegally operating bike taxi vehiclesEnforcement teams have been carrying out inspections and imposing penalties on vehicles found violating the rulesAccording to Sarnaik since April 2024 authorities have taken action against 130 twowheelers operating illegally as bike taxis and have collected fines exceeding Rs 33 lakhThe minister said the government is committed to ensuring that bike taxi services operate strictly within the legal framework and meet required safety standardsHe added that any violations of transport regulations will attract strict action as the state aims to maintain a safe and regulated urban transport ecosystem