Mumbai, Dec 30 (PTI) A committee of the Maharashtra Transport Department has found multiple violations of laid-down norms by all three bike taxi operators - Ola, Uber and Rapido - operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region (MMR), as per the State Transport Authority (STA).
These violations include the use of non-electric and private bikes, charging fares higher than the approved rates, ferrying passengers beyond the permissible distance, and appointing riders without police verification.
The STA, chaired by Maharashtra Transport Secretary Sanjay Sethi, however, has not taken any immediate action against the operators, but decided to hold a couple of meetings with the senior management of the companies.
Bharat Kalaskar, Additional Transport Commissioner and STA secretary, told PTI that due to the model code of conduct in force ahead of the civic polls in Mumbai, no action has been taken against the three operators yet.
As per the minutes of the STA meeting held on December 18, the transport department committee appointed to examine compliance with the Maharashtra Bike Taxi Rules, 2025, found multiple violations by bike taxi operators Uber, Rapido and Ola in their operations in the MMR.
The committee, constituted on November 12, found common violations, such as the use of non-electric and private bikes as taxis, charging of fares higher than those approved by the STA under its order dated March 13, ferrying passengers beyond the permissible limit of 15 kilometres, and operating services without the mandatory police verification of riders.
According to the minutes, the transport department has so far imposed fines on a total of 863 bike taxis belonging to the three companies.
The bike taxis operated by Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd (Rapido) faced the highest number of 702 fines, followed by 85 by Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd (Uber) and 76 by ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ola), the document showed.
Of the 16 police cases filed so far by the transport department against the three companies, the highest number - 13 FIRs - are against Rapido, followed by two against Uber and one against Ola, according to it.
Meanwhile, the STA has decided to give these companies time to present their side before taking any action against their provisional licences, officials said.
As per the minutes of the STA meeting, the authority decided that first the transport commissioner and later the transport secretary would hold separate meetings with the senior management of all three bike taxi operators. After hearing their submissions, the STA will decide on the action to be taken against the operators.
As per the transport department officials, they were anticipating some stern action against the bike taxi operators, especially after Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik's statement following a review meeting on bike taxi issues earlier this month. The meeting was convened following a molestation case in Kalyan city in the MMR, in which a rider allegedly molested a female passenger.
Just a day before the STA meeting, minister Sarnaik had announced that the STA would take a decision against the bike taxi aggregators for violating the rules.
The STA has issued provisional bike taxi operator licences under the Mumbai Bike Taxi Rules, 2025, to three companies to operate bike taxi services in the MMR earlier this year.
While granting provisional licences, the STA imposed a condition that the companies must apply for permanent licences within one month, fulfilling all the terms and conditions prescribed under the Maharashtra Bike Taxi Rules, 2025.
One of the preconditions for granting provisional licences was the registration of at least 50 e-bike taxis in the transport category within one month.
In the same meeting, the STA fixed a minimum fare of Rs 15 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 10.27 per km thereafter. The fare structure, based on the Khatua Committee formula used for taxis and autorickshaws, will be reviewed after one year. PTI KK NP
