Maharashtra Government Bans Use Of Private Vehicles For Taxi Aggregation, Car-Pooling

The Government of Maharashtra in a recent resolution banned the use of private vehicles for aggregation and ride-pooling services. The resolution comes following the January 13 ruling by the Bombay High Court that suspended bike-taxi aggregator Rapido from operating in the state owing to operating without a commercial license.

The government said that the resolution was passed with the safety of the public and passengers in mind. Currently some app-based taxi aggregator services in some cities offer services using non-transport registered vehicles – i.e. vehicles with white number plates as against yellow (commercial).

The resolution stated that the use of non-transport vehicles for public transport was on the rise which “raises serious practical and security concerns for the passengers and may cause serious threat to the road safety of the general public and passengers.”

The Government Resolution also expressed concerns over use of out-of-state vehicles (registered for private use) within Maharashtra for transport purposes and its affect on local taxi operators that plied vehicles with valid permits.

The resolution stated that the use of private registered vehicles for commercial purposes required a detailed study including the drawing up of terms and conditions, policy framework and guidelines. However while the government issued the ban, it has said that a committee has been constituted to study the issues related to the matter and provide recommendations. 

With inputs from PTI