Rapido directors booked for providing illegal bike-taxi service

The case was registered after six regional transport office (RTO) officers in Mumbai booked bike taxis on Rapido recently, after learning that the company was illegally offering the service.

MUMBAI: The police have registered an FIR against the directors of ridesharing company Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited for allegedly operating an illegal bike taxi aggregator service under the Rapido brand.

Mumbai, India - October 30, 2020: Mumbai residents now have an option to use a bike taxi to reach a particular destination faster despite heavy traffic. Transport authorities have given permission for bike taxis to operate; the first such service was launched on Friday. Commuters will be able to book a bike taxi by downloading the Rapido mobile phone application. Passengers will have to create an account on the mobile application. The facility is available on both android and IOS platforms.

The case was registered after six regional transport office (RTO) officers in Mumbai booked bike taxis on Rapido recently, after learning that the company was illegally offering the service.

“We have registered a case against the directors of Rapido under sections 223 (disobedience of lawful orders issued by public servants) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act,” said a police officer from the Amboli police station. The FIR was registered based on a complaint lodged by Harshal Sose, 41, an inspector at the Mumbai West RTO in Andheri.

HT had reported on July 4 about Maharashtra transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar directing RTOs to crack down on bike taxis across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as companies such as Rapido, Ola and Uber were ferrying passengers without obtaining mandatory permits. The order came a day after state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, under an alias, booked a Rapido bike taxi from Mantralaya to Dadar to expose the platform’s illegal operations in the state.

While the state government recently legalised bike taxis, operators can only use electric two-wheelers and need proper licences, including yellow commercial number plates. A state-appointed committee recommended these regulations to prohibit the pooling of non-transport vehicles by aggregators to ensure the safety of passengers. However, platforms such as Rapido have allegedly flouted these regulations. Last month, too, police cases were registered against Uber and Rapido for operating illegal bike taxi services.

On April 29, Rapido was served with a notice to stop the illegal bike taxi services, said the officer quoted earlier. Following the transport commissioner’s order earlier this month, senior RTO officials ordered their subordinates to take bike taxi rides and then take action against them. Accordingly, on July 16, six RTO officers booked rides in Andheri and found that bike taxis were still operating illegally without permits, the officer added.

The Andheri RTO officers then registered a case against Rapido’s directors at the Amboli police station. HT reached out to Rapido for a comment but didn’t get a response until the time of going to press.