Ola, Uber, Rapido bike taxi services banned in India's capital Delhi

India’s national capital New Delhi has banned two-wheeler ride service provided by ride-hailing firms Uber, Ola and Rapido, putting millions of jobs in jeopardy.

The decision deals a serious blow to the commuters who primarily rely on bike taxi services as they offer cheap fares compared to car rides.

The Delhi Transport Department issued a public notice on Monday that using private two-wheelers to carry passengers for hire violates Indian law. It said that the ban order will take place with immediate effect.

“It has come to light that that bike taxi service provided by Uber, Ola and Rapido have violated transport rules. Hence, the service has been by the city's transport department,” it said in the notice.

“It has been brought to the notice that two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration mark/numbers are being used to carry passengers on hire which is purely commercial operation and a violation of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.”

According to the Motor Vehicles Act, private vehicles cannot be used for commercial operations in India.

According to the notice, a fine of Rs. 5,000 (USD 60) will be imposed on the first offence, while for the second offense, a fine of ₹10,000 (USD 120) and imprisonment of up to 1 year can be imposed. Apart from that, the driver can also lose his license for 3 months.

Whereas, the fine for the companies will be much higher. These digital platforms providing bike taxi rides to users will be charged with a fine of Rs 100,000 (USD 1,200) if they facilitate the operation.

It comes just weeks after the Supreme Court banned Rapido services in western state of Maharashtra and declined relief to bike, taxi and auto service provideras the company was operating in the state without a legal license.

According to a report published by Allied Market Research last year, India's motorbike taxi market was valued at $50.5mn, and was expected to reach around $1.5bn by 2030.

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