Bike-taxi operations in Delhi to stop soon after SC overturns order that allowed them to ply

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced that it will ask bike-taxi aggregators to cease operations in the city till a policy is notified.

The announcement comes just a day after Supreme Court stayed an order by the High Court that had allowed them to ply.

Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said the government will write to aggregators and also appeal to them through the media to comply with the apex court order or face action.

On Monday, the apex court stayed a High Court order that allowed bike-taxi aggregators like Rapido and Uber to operate in the national capital.

“The submission of the department in the court was that we have already floated a draft scheme and the scheme is going to be finalised soon. In the absence of any scheme and regulatory framework, the companies are overstepping their mandate by offering such services in the absence of any permits or registration from the Transport Department,” Kundra told PTI.

He added that companies have been invited to drop their suggestions on the proposed bike taxi policy based on which the government will make a decision.

“Those issues have to be incorporated while finalising the policy. We will be writing to them. These are responsible companies and they should advise their driver partners to desist from operations till they have due authorisation and registration. It is unfortunate that in continuing such operations, they are jeopardising the economic prospects of such people who are associated with them unknowingly in an activity not permissible by law,” he said.

Why are bike taxis banned in Delhi?

The decision to cease the operations of bike taxis in Delhi comes after the government of Maharashtra imposed a similar ban.

In February, Kundra told Outlook Business that the operation of bike taxis in the city does not comply with some of the safety rules.

Also, according to Kundra, bike taxis also contribute to the city’s pollution levels. He said, “Most of the bike taxis are second-hand or third-hand vehicles that are highly polluting and the [cab hailing] platforms do not conduct any checks on this.”

The Delhi Government also said that the use of non-transport vehicles for commercial activity without commercial numbers was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

With inputs from agencies

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