In a recent advisory from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Mobility firms and startups are most likely to find some relief as they are often at odds with state transport departments over the operation of two-wheelers as taxis and rentals.
Giving Relief To Bike Taxis
Further, MoRTH clarified that motorcycles fall within the definition of contract carriages as per Section 2(7) of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988 as per the advisory dated January 22, 2024.
“All states/UTs are advised to accept and process applications for contract carriage permits for motorcycles under the provisions of the MV Act and the rules,” as mentioned in the advisory.
This comes as a relief to many firms which are operating two-wheeler taxis and rental services.
As it is known that the states such as Goa, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have permitted bike taxis, but Maharashtra and Delhi have banned them.
So far, the country has over 36 crore vehicles, out of that 26 crore are two-wheelers, as per information provided by the centralized database Vahan.
“We find the recent advisory from the Centre to be incredibly encouraging, as it clarifies the legal standing of bike taxis, opening up new avenues for transportation and income generation,” said a spokesperson from Rapido welcomed MoRTH’s proactive stance.
Further he has emphasized on the need for state governments to align their procedures and guidelines with the advisory to facilitate the issuance of contract carriage permits to motorcycles.
Saying, “It’s a pivotal moment for the industry, and with the right support, we can truly revolutionize transportation in India.”
Besides this, other firms also welcomed it.
“Many states refused to grant a rent-a-motorcycle scheme license, citing that contract carriages can’t be given to two-wheelers. We had fought and made it happen across many states,” said co-founder of Bounce, Vivekananda Hallekere, while welcoming the advisory.
Different States Different Policies
At present, different states have their own rules so they are not the same.
For instance, white-board petrol-run two-wheelers cannot be used for bike taxis in Karnataka, but they have introduced an electric bike taxi policy.
In the case of Goa, they allow bike taxis with yellow number plates.
Besides this, auto-rickshaw driver unions in multiple cities, including Bengaluru, have been opposing bike taxis, claiming they are illegal and impacting their earnings.
“We already have a Rent a Motorcycle Scheme, where we are issuing contract carriage permits to two-wheelers. But we are not allowing petrol-run bike taxis. But we recently received the notification from the Centre, and we need to come up with a policy to implement it,” said a senior Karnataka transport department official in a media report.
