Ola, Uber, Rapido ordered to stop bike taxi services in Delhi: Report

Bike taxi drivers face punishment of Rs 5,000 for a first offence and Rs 10,000 in fines and/or jail time for a second or subsequent infraction

The Delhi Transport Department on Monday issued a public notice to ban app-based aggregators Ola, Uber and Rapido from providing bike taxi services with immediate effect as per a Moneycontrol report.

In the notice, the transport department stated, “It has been brought to the notice that two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration mark/numbers are being used to carry passengers on hire which is purely commercial operation and a violation of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988."

Read | No surcharge in aggregator autos, Karnataka transport department caps commission at 5%

As per the notice, any violation will result in a punishment of Rs 5,000 for a first offence and Rs 10,000 in fines and/or jail time for a second or subsequent infraction. The driving license of the driver will be suspended for a minimum period of three years, the notice added.

In addition, aggregators such as Ola, Uber, and Rapido, will be charged with a fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for facilitating this service.

The move comes weeks after the Supreme Court declined relief to Rapido, which challenged the Bombay High Court order directing the aggregator to stop operation in Maharashtra immediately as it does not have a license to operate bike, taxi or rickshaw services.

Rapido, Ola and Uber have discontinued bike taxi services in Maharashtra.