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Maharashtra Orders Crackdown on Illegal Bike Taxi Apps After Minister’s Sting

Following Sarnaik’s sting, the transport commissioner directed RTOs to crack down on unlicensed bike taxis by inviting public tip-offs.

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Pratap Sarnaik catches illegal Rapido bikes in action
Officials at the state transport commissioner’s office said that Rapido, Ola and Uber are ferrying passengers without obtaining mandatory permits.

Overview

  • On July 2, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik booked a Rapido ride under an alias to expose app-based bike taxis operating without approval despite official assurances of compliance.
  • Maharashtra’s draft electric bike taxi policy approved on April 1 remains unnotified, rendering all current app-based services unauthorized under the Motor Vehicles Act.
  • FIRs filed in May by Azad Maidan police against Rapido and Uber build on a January 2024 Bombay High Court order that banned unlicensed bike taxi operations.
  • Sar­naik stressed that enforcement should target aggregators rather than individual riders, offering the sting-operation driver a goodwill payment instead of penalties.
  • On July 3, the transport commissioner ordered regional RTOs to seize unlicensed vehicles, impose penalties and solicit citizen tip-offs to bolster enforcement.