Comply with ban or we will impound bike taxis: New Delhi city tells Uber, Ola

The Supreme Court on Monday backed the city government’s ban on bike taxis in a setback for U.S. ride-hailing company Uber which had legally challenged authorities to continue offering the services.

The government has argued that bike taxis violate local city laws, while Uber argued the ban hurts the livelihoods of its riders.

The High Court, in its May 26 order, had essentially allowed bike-taxi aggregators Rapido and Uber to operate in the national capital by asking the Delhi government not to take any coercive action against them until a new policy on the matter was formulated. The apex court, however, stayed the High Court order on Monday.

A vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal has granted liberty to both Rapido and Uber to request urgent hearing of their pleas by the Delhi HC. The bench has also recorded the Delhi government counsel’s submission that the final policy will be notified before July-end.

The Delhi government submitted before the apex court that the aggregators were operating two-wheelers without proper licenses or permits, as required under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and non-transport two-wheelers should not be used as taxis without a policy in place.

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It further apprised the top court that the policy for licensing would be in place and the licensing regime would become operational by July 31, 2023.Plying the bike taxis by Rapido and Uber cannot, amongst other reasons, be permitted without complying with conditions like police verification, obligations of installing GPS devices, panic buttons etc., to ensure road safety and the safety of the passengers, the State government said.

Earlier in February, the transport department had cautioned bike-taxis against plying on the roads of Delhi, warning that it was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, that would make aggregators liable for a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

(With agency inputs)