Friday 04 August 2023 PNS | DEHRADUN
About 300 two-wheeler operators are illegally providing bike taxi services under app-based aggregator Rapido in the Dehradun division of the transport department when the latter has issued only 40 permits. Many operators belong to other states and such illicit operations by them put the safety of passengers besides law and order at risk, claimed the regional transport officer (Administration) Sunil Sharma.
He said that a total of 1,200 two-wheelers under Rapido are registered in the regional transport office of Dehradun division out of which about 300 operate illegally when only 40 operators have the permits. He said that the department has been taking appropriate action against such violators who were found to be operating illegally in the RTO division that include Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri and Uttarkashi districts. He said that the two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration numbers are being used to carry passengers on hire which is a purely commercial operation and a violation of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
The mother company Rapido of these operators have not received an aggregator license from the State government as per the MV rules. He said that the department had also issued notices to the Rapido office in Dehradun and warned that any violation will result in penal action. The department had also asked their representative in Dehradun to present their issue before the officials but they did not comply. “We have again asked Rapido to get the required license and permissions from the government to run their operation legally. If they will not comply soon, legal action will be taken against them,” added Sharma.
The app-based aggregator Rapido was also recently prevented from plying bike taxis on the road without commercial permits in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune among others by the respective transport departments.
