Bike taxi will remain closed till the policy comes in Delhi: Supreme Court stays High Court’s decision, decides in favor of Delhi government

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the decision of the Delhi High Court. The High Court had said that bike taxis will be able to run till the policy is finalised.

The Supreme Court said on Monday that bike taxis of Ola, Uber and Rapido will not be able to run in Delhi. Companies will have to wait till the Delhi government’s taxi operation policy is formulated. At the same time, the Delhi government has said that by June 30, a policy will be made for the operation of two-wheeler taxis.

Delhi High Court’s decision stayed
The Delhi government had said that until the policy regarding the operation of two-wheeler taxis is not finalized, the bike taxi service should not be started. On this, companies like Rapido and Uber had filed an appeal in the High Court against it.

The High Court had put a stay on this notice of the Delhi government. Along with this, the decision was given to continue the services to the aggregators till the finalization of the policy. There was also a ban on taking any action on bike taxis.

On May 26, the Delhi government challenged this decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court. Hearing on which the vacation bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal ruled in favor of the Delhi government and stayed the decision of the Delhi High Court.

In February 2023, the Delhi government had banned bike taxis in the capital with immediate effect. Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot in the Kejriwal government had said that the government will soon come up with a new policy for two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler aggregators.

Delhi government bid – bike taxis running without license and permit
Regarding bike taxis, the Delhi government argued in the Supreme Court that two-wheelers are being used by aggregators without proper license and permit. The requirement of a commercial license for an aggregator is provided for in Section 93 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

Delhi government’s argument was that these guidelines are for both four wheelers and two wheelers. In such a situation, aggregators cannot use non-transport two-wheelers without bringing a policy.

Bike taxi companies said – thousands of riders will make a difference
Rapido and Uber said that thousands of riders operate such bike taxis. Delhi government’s decision will affect their livelihood. The private two-wheelers which have been engaged for commercial/transport service should be allowed to operate till a policy is formulated and license is obtained. During the hearing, the central government said that license is necessary to operate two wheelers under aggregators.

Why did the government ban bike taxis?
Delhi government’s argument behind banning bike taxis is that only vehicles with commercial registration can be used as taxis, while the bikes running as taxis are not commercial but have private registration.

The Transport Ministry had warned aggregators against the use of bike taxis, saying that doing so was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988. Those violating the order can be fined up to Rs 1 lakh.

Bike taxi market can provide employment to more than 20 lakh people
Since 2015, startups providing bike taxi service started in the country. By 2017, 40 companies had entered this field. However, the big players remained Ola Bike, Uber Moto and Rapido. The report of Ola Mobility Institute claims that the bike taxi market can generate revenue of more than 33 thousand crores and can give employment to more than 20 lakh people.

Such a big market… but the rules regarding this are not yet clear
Despite having such huge potential, the rules and regulations regarding bike taxis in the country are not clear. Understand… when did the Center give permission to bike taxis and what is included under it.

Bike taxi continues in these states