Mumbai, July 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Wednesday exposed the illegal plying of bike taxis by booking a ride in Mumbai using a different name, an investigation that laid bare the department’s official version of strict compliance.
The minister booked a ride using Rapido app to verify a senior official’s claim that the app and illegal bike taxi service were not functional.
He booked a ride from Mantralaya to Dadar using the app, which showed the fare payable at Rs 195, the minister told PTI.
When the biker arrived at Babu Genu Junction outside Mantralaya, the minister handed him over Rs 500 and counselled him about the illegal service. No action was taken against the rider, Sarnaik said.
The ‘investigation’ was initiated after Sarnaik called a senior official in the transport commissioner’s office to cross-check whether the illegal bike taxi application and services were operational. The official assured that the app and service were not operational.
The recently announced e-bike policy permits companies that comply with specific norms to operate services in cities with more than 1 lakh population. The government has yet to notify the rules, which makes such services illegal.
A senior official in the transport commissioner’s office said a proposal had been forwarded to the government suggesting minor tweaks in the previous set of rules.
Notably, the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner’s office lodged an FIR against Rapido and Uber companies at Azad Maidan police station last month for allegedly operating bike taxis illegally. PTI KK NSK
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