New Delhi2 hours ago
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In February 2023, the Delhi government had banned bike taxis in the capital with immediate effect. Cab aggregators challenged this decision in the High Court.
While hearing the matter, the court had decided to continue the services to the aggregators till the final policy in this matter.
On May 26, the Delhi government challenged this decision of the High Court by the Supreme Court, which will be heard today. A vacation bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal is hearing the matter.
Advocate Manish Vashishtha, who appeared on behalf of the Delhi government in the Supreme Court, had said that the decision of the High Court is not appropriate. It is tantamount to accepting the writ petition of the 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, whereas the bikes running as taxis are not commercial but have private registration.
Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot in the Kejriwal government had told that the government will soon come up with a new policy for two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler aggregators.
Earlier, the Transport Ministry had warned aggregators about 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. Ola Mobility Institute’s report 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, even after having such huge possibilities, the rules and regulations regarding bike taxis are not clear in the country. Understand… when did the Center give permission to bike taxis and what is included under it.
Bike taxi continues in other countries
Bike taxis are allowed in many countries around the world. Bike taxis are very popular in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. This service is running in most of the cities of Brazil. Bike taxis run in Brazil under the name of moto taxis.
Drivers are recognized by the yellow color of their helmets and vests. Bike taxis also abound in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The reason for their fame is that they are cheap and take less time.
According to a report by the Observer Research Foundation, the entry of aggregators such as ‘Gojek’ in Indonesia has helped legalize the bike taxi sector. The bike taxi market has been around for years in Thailand, where regulations were made in 2005 itself.
