Hyderabad: Demand to ban use of private vehicles as app-based bike taxis

Hyderabad: The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU) and Telangana State Taxi and Drivers' Joint Action Committee (TSTDJAC) have urged the State government to terminate Rapido, Ola and Uber ride-hailing apps that allow operation of motorbikes as taxis.

The TGPWU State president and chairman TSTDJAC Shaik Salauddin gave a representation to Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar on Friday and stressed that the increasing business of Rapido severely impacts auto-rickshaw and cab drivers.

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.

Salauddin said bike taxi services run by Rapido, Ola and Uber, in several parts of the country, are operating an illegal business as private licensed vehicles are not allowed to be used as taxis. These ride-hailing applications allow motorbike owners to operate their vehicles as taxis which is contrary to the MV Act (Rule 50, 51 of MV Act, 1989), which specifies that taxi cabs' registration mark shall be in black color on yellow background.

"The RTOs (Regional Transport Office) in Karnataka, Chennai, and Maharashtra seized around 120 bikes in the last week of January and charged a fine of Rs 10,000-15,000 on each seized vehicle owner operating as Ola Moto, Uber Moto and Rapido. The Pune RTO team impounded 65 motorcycles providing taxi services in Pune in the first week of February 2022," he mentioned.

This brings forth two serious issues, first the RTOs are arresting and charging bike taxi drivers and not taking any action on the company itself. Secondly, due to usage of bike taxis auto-rickshaw and cab/taxi drivers are suffering, as they are getting fewer rides due to bike taxis charging less fare for their services as they don't have to pay road permit, taxes and licence fee for operating a commercial vehicle.

"All operations of private motorbikes operating as bike taxis should be stopped in Telangana immediately," the JAC urged.

There should also be an immediate cap implemented by the State government on attaching new vehicles for bike taxis and delivery in Telangana. Rapido, Ola and Uber bike taxi operations should follow the MV Act, registration for commercial plying of bike taxis on city roads should be started by Rapido, Ola and Uber immediately, for all its attached bike taxis. The government should instruct the app-based to bear the cost of penalties levied on bike taxi owners in Telangana.