Maharashtra Govt Approves Bike Taxi Service In The State

The Maharashtra cabinet has approved electric bike taxis for cities with a population of at least 1 lakh. This will help solo travelers on short trips of up to 15 km and will be available in Mumbai and other urban areas.

Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the government is introducing new transport services to make commuting easier.The bike taxi service aims to provide a convenient travel options to state passengers.

The government has also allowed bike pooling for private two-wheelers to reduce traffic. These vehicles must have a fitness certificate, a valid license, and insurance under the Motor Vehicles Act. Fare rates will be set by the regional transport authority.

According to the state cabinet, bike taxis will offer an affordable and easy travel option.

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“Bike taxis will now run in cities with a population of at least one lakh in the state. State government has taken this as a policy decision in Tuesday’s cabinet meeting that was held at the Sahyadri Guest House. The bike taxis will be given a yellow colour for their identification. The GPS will be installed to these bike taxis, police verification of driver, insurance etc will be also done to ensure the 100 per cent safety of the passengers who are going to use them,” Shiv Sena minister said.

“Such vehicles will be required to have a fitness certificate, a legal license and insurance cover under the Motor Vehicles Act. The passenger fare rates of bike taxis will be determined by the concerned regional transport authority,” the minister added.

This comes a few months after the Maharashtra transport department reportedly allowed ride-hailing platforms to start bike taxi services in Mumbai. At that time, the department asked cab aggregators to take extra precautions for women’s safety.

The move is expected to benefit bike taxi platforms and provide commuters with an affordable last-mile travel option. However, limiting services to electric bike taxis could pose challenges for these platforms in the short term.

In January 2023, the state government had banned bike taxis and asked ride-hailing companies to get a license to operate. Following this, bike taxi platform Rapido challenged the ban in the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

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