Hyderabad: Cab & autowalas demand Sarkar to ‘hathao’ bike taxis

Hyderabad : The auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers have urged the State government to terminate Rapido, Ola and Uber ride-hailing apps that allow operation of motorbikes as taxis. It was alleged that at least 99 percent of the bikes being used as bike taxis are illegal. The improper use of private vehicles for commercial purposes is against the Motor Vehicle Act, Rule 50, 51 of MV Act, 1989.

The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union urged the government to tighten their hold on illegal bike taxis, which have a severe impact on auto-rickshaws and taxi drivers. Ola, Uber and Rapido ride-hailing aggregators also provide commuters with the option of hiring a bike taxi. However, the aggregators have been running the services illegally by allowing several private licensed vehicles to join the services.

According to them, the local auto rickshaws and cab drivers bear heavy losses due to decreasing ride demands they receive owing to lower charges of bike taxi services. The JAC claimed that the privately owned bike taxis are freed from paying road permits, taxes and licence fee, which is mandatory for operating a commercial vehicle.

The TGPWU State president Shaik Salauddin said the union gave representation to the Chief minister, Transport Minister and Chief secretary and stressed that the increasing business of bike taxis severely impacts commercial drivers. Also, urged to implement the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 and to take action on aggregator companies.

Salauddin said that they have submitted multiple representations elaborating the issue to the State Transport Department earlier, as the companies like Rapido, Ola and Uber are running ride hailing services on private two wheeled vehicles to transport passengers in Telangana. “This is not only an illegal business practice by these companies, it is a safety threat for the passengers and city traffic. Most importantly while the companies are only concerned about earning their commissions from the riders, the state government is being robbed of various fees and taxes which are earned from commercially registered vehicles,” he added. He said “As per the Supreme Court direction unlicensed bike taxi operations have been stopped in most of the major cities in India. The Court also directed these companies to immediately procure licences under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 before they are allowed to start their operations in these cities, but it is yet to be implemented in Telangana state,” added Salauddin.

He pointed out that the Government should act against these aggregator companies who are misguiding the workers to work commercially on a private white plate number and majority of youth are into it. “The Government should also provide a subsidized single window opportunity to renew commercial driving license and badge of drivers in Telangana.”