After misstep with apps, state to amend bike taxi policy

Maharashtra plans stricter regulations for bike taxis, requiring state-specific apps and geo-fencing, after a failed attempt to remove ride-hailing apps.

MUMBAI: After making a U-turn on its move to get Apple and Google to pull ride-hailing applications from their app stores, the Maharashtra government has decided to make policy changes to tighten oversight on bike taxi operations.

After misstep with apps, state to amend bike taxi policy

The state plans to make it mandatory for operators to develop Maharashtra-specific applications for bike taxi services, and to implement geo-fencing of apps to ensure greater control on their operations. A standoff has arisen as aggregator apps such as Uber, Ola and Rapido have been running bike taxis while violating various regulations.

The state has announced new steps only 24 hours after it was forced to make an embarrassing climbdown in its attempt to rein in illegal bike taxi operations. On Friday, the cyber department served notices to Apple and Google, directing them to remove Uber, Ola and Rapido apps form their platforms, to halt bike taxi services.

The apps, which were pulled down on Friday night, were restored on Saturday after the central government intervened. According to government officials, since pulling down the apps meant taxi, auto-rickshaw and other operations too were impacted, the companies that run these aggregator apps reached out to the Indian government, urging it to restore their services.

Bike taxi operators have allegedly failed to comply with policy requirements such as mandatory deployment of electric vehicles, using green-and-yellow registration plates, installing safety dividers between drivers and passengers, among other things.

“Driver verification mechanisms, insurance protections, women’s safety measures and emergency response systems are inadequate. Rash and negligent driving commonly associated with such bike taxi operations poses a substantial risk to public safety,” said the official.

To get operators to fall in line, the government will revisit its bike taxi policy announced in September last year. “Operators will be required to develop Maharashtra-specific applications for bike taxi operations so that the state has control over services. The apps will be linked to licence numbers to maintain state-specific exclusivity. Operators will also have to geo-fence their applications to ensure state-specific operations on those platforms,” said a government official.

State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said operators would submit their demands and outline difficulties in complying with the policy and rules in a meeting scheduled for Friday. “We will not compromise on safety-related norms or dilute the policy. However, if operators face difficulties in replacing existing bikes with electric vehicles and seek additional time, we can consider it. Illegal operations, however, will not be allowed. Operators will also have to ensure that their bike taxi services are kept separate to avoid the inconvenience they faced last week,” he said.