Delhi government warns against running bike taxis without commercial permits, cites Rs 1 lakh fine
Two-wheelers with private registration numbers cannot be hired to ferry passengers and this is in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the transport department has said.
App-based aggregators running bike taxis without a commercial licence in Delhi are violating provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and can be fined up to Rs 1 lakh, the transport department said in a notice issued on Sunday.
“It has been brought to the notice that two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration mark/number are being used to carry passengers on hire or reward which is purely commercial operation and in violation of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and rules made thereunder,” the notice said.
The first offence is punishable under Section 192 of the Act with a fine of up to Rs 5,000, and for a second or subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to one year with a fine up to Rs 10,000, besides impounding of the vehicle. In addition to the above punishment, the driving licence of the driver will be suspended for a minimum period of three months under the direction of the Supreme Court committee.Further, the transport department said that it has also observed that certain digital platforms are facilitating such operations by offering booking through an app thereby engaging themselves as an aggregator in contravention of the provision of Section 93, and shall be punishable with a fine up to Rs 1 lakh under Section 193(2) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. “Accordingly, it is directed to immediately stop such kind of activities to avoid prosecution and penalty, etc,” the notice said.According to a senior official, bike taxis are not allowed in Delhi. “App-based aggregators are running bike taxis and these are drivers with personal bikes without a proper permit. To operate commercial service, one needs to seek a commercial permit and the taxis should have yellow plates and PSV badge which is not there. The main problem here is, you do not know who the driver is, there are no details. Any incident can take place and safety of women is of utmost importance so we have also started a drive and impounding is being done by the enforcement teams,” the official added.Officials said that the department has also started an enforcement drive and impounded two-wheelers running without permits. In such cases, the enforcement team will first issue a show-cause notice and subsequently, fines will be imposed and action taken, said officials.
