State to allow petrol bikes in app-based taxi fleets, rolls back EV-only rule

The move comes after the transport department found that aggregators had failed to comply with the EV mandate

Mumbai: The state government has decided to allow petrol-powered bikes in app-based taxi fleets, reversing its earlier decision to permit only electric two-wheelers for bike taxi services. The notification is expected to be issued soon.

State to allow petrol bikes in app-based taxi fleets, rolls back EV-only rule

The move comes after the transport department found that aggregators had failed to comply with the EV mandate, with electric bikes accounting for less than 1% of their fleets despite the rule being in force.

Officials said the decision was taken at a recent meeting chaired by transport minister Pratap Sarnaik. Aggregators are likely to get six months to improve the share of electric bikes, although the deadline may be extended if EV supply remains inadequate.

Last year, the state allowed bike taxi services through aggregators but made electric vehicles mandatory. It also suspended the licences of operators including Ola, Uber and Rapido over multiple violations, including non-compliance with the EV requirement.

“Rapido, Uber and Ola claim to have around 60,000 bikes in their fleet in taxi services in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. But according to our estimate, the number is more than 2 lakh and e-bikes are less than 1%,” said a transport department officer.