Maharashtra govt issues draft rules for e-bike taxi services

The Maharashtra government has issued a draft notification detailing the proposed rules for electric bike taxi services across the state and also invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders by June 5 reported news agency PTIIssued on May 22 as part of a government resolution GR titled the Maharashtra Bike Taxi Rules 2025 the draft framework aims to regulate digital aggregators and operators of twowheeler taxi services under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 reported PTIOn April 1 the Maharashtra cabinet approved the introduction of electric bike taxis for cities with at least one lakh population aiming to create more than 10000 jobs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR and another 10000 in the rest of the stateA bike taxi typically refers to a ridehailing service that uses motorcycles or other twowheeled vehicles to ferry passengersAccording to the notification issued by the state transport department only licenced operators with a minimum fleet of 50 electric bike taxis will be allowed to function The vehicles must be registered in Maharashtra and have compliance with insurance fitness and permit norms reported PTIThe rules mandate the installation of GPS tracking crash helmets for passengers and safety measures such as womenspecific driver options and a 24x7 control room Operators are also required to maintain a grievance redressal mechanism and ensure police verification of driversThe licensee shall maintain a 24 x 7 control room with adequate manpower said the notification reported PTIIt mandates that individuals or partnership firms or any registered company can engage in the business of a bike taxi agency after obtaining a licence from the authority concernedFor granting a licence or renewal of it a security deposit of Rs 5 lakh along with application fees of Rs 1 lakh will be charged to applicants as per the notificationThe licence will be valid for five yearsThe notification prohibits street hailing and mandates yellowcoloured bikes with reflective Bike Taxi signage and caps trip distances at 15 kmDrivers must hold a commercial licence and be between 20 and 50 years of ageAs per the notification the licensee will be responsible for the quality of drivers their police verification and conduct with passengersPolice verification shall be done at the time of induction and at the time of renewal of driving licence it stated reported PTIThe notification said the licensee should ensure drivers undertake safety training every three months not pick up passengers from street hailing not work more than eight hours and not share personal contact information of women drivers with passengers reported PTIThe draft empowers regional transport authorities to set fare caps and impose additional local conditions It also pointed out that service providers must provide insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh in case of accidental death for the driver and passengerBike taxi service providers shall provide a facility in their app for female passengers to opt for a female driver and vice versa ensuring enhanced safety it saidThe notification stipulates that the speed of bike taxis should not exceed 60 km per hour and there should be a separator between the driver and passenger The service provider should provide protective cover in the rainy season for passengersWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params