Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the government warned the two-wheeler cab aggregators like Ola, Rapido, Uber, In Driver that the use of taxi bikes for commercial purposes is prohibited.
The public transport department also issued the notice and stated that the first offence could lead to a fine of ₹ 5,000 while a second offence could incur a ₹ 10,000 fine.
Notably, the Delhi government also approached the Supreme Court in which the high court has directed that no coercive action will be taken against the bike taxi aggregators till the time the
Arvind Kejriwal government notifies the regulations.
Reputed taxi aggregator Rapido also challenged a show-cause notice issued to it by the Delhi government, alleging it violated the fundamental and constitutional rights, and has been passed in violation of the principles of natural justice.
The plea also said that, "The direction issued by the transport department under the impugned notice is ex-facie arbitrary and passed without following due process under law, without providing any reasons for such prohibition."
The government has said that the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator Scheme, 2023 has already been prepared by the State and the same is now pending the approval of the Competent Authority.
"The respondents are required to get themselves registered and apply for permits after complying with the conditions laid down therein upon its notification and only thereafter, the Respondents can be allowed to continue their business operations in accordance with law", the state government said.
Plying the bike taxis by Rapido and Uber cannot, amongst other reasons, be permitted without complying with conditions like police verification, obligations of installing GPS devices, panic buttons etc., to ensure road safety and the safety of the passengers, the State government said.