Delhi govt plans to allow only electric two-wheelers to ply as bike taxis

The aggregator policy being finalised by the Delhi government proposes to allow only electric two-wheelers to ply as bike taxis, officials said on Tuesday.

The aggregator policy for two-, three- and four-wheelers is in its final stages and will be rolled out soon, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Monday.

A senior official said, "The aggregator policy, which is being finalised, plans to bring in norms to regularise these vehicles. The policy will make it mandatory for aggregators to on-board electric two-wheelers and encourage sustainable transportation, which is our focus.

"The policy should be finalised soon but of course there will be a long route ahead."

The Delhi government's Transport department has launched a crackdown against two-wheelers with private registration marks being used for commercial purposes.

In a public notice, the department has cautioned bike taxis against plying in Delhi and warned that violations would make aggregators liable for a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.

Talking about the crackdown, the senior official said it is difficult to identify such vehicles since there is no specific mark.

"For now, our teams are posing as decoy customers and issuing challans," he said.

According to official figures, five bike taxis were issued challans till 5 pm on Monday. On Tuesday, 23 such bike taxis were challaned.

The Transport department will also write to the aggregators to not ply such two-wheelers.

Explaining the situation, the senior official said the aggregators do not check if the vehicles have valid Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC) or whether they are overage.

"Most of the bike taxis are those that are bought second- or third-hand. So there are high chances that they are unfit to ply on the roads of Delhi. Two-wheelers are a huge contributor to pollution in the national capital," he said.

In 2018, the Supreme Court banned diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years, respectively, in Delhi. It had also directed that the vehicles plying in violation of the order would be impounded.

A 2014 order of the National Green Tribunal bars vehicles older than 15 years from being parked in public places.