Trouble for Rapido, Uber! Supreme Court stays Delhi HC order allowing bike taxis to ply

In a big blow for bike taxi operators, the Supreme Court has stayed Delhi High Court's order that allowed bike taxis to ply in the capital city. The apex court put on hold the high court's order that allowed bike taxi aggregators such as Rapido and Uber to operate without aggregator licences till the final policy is notified. 

The Delhi government assured the Supreme Court that it will frame guidelines and the licencing policy for bike aggregators by July 31 in order to regulate their operations.

This decision came after the apex court, last week, sought the Centre’s views on Delhi government’s plea that challenged the high court order. The Delhi High Court stayed a notice to bike taxi aggregator Rapido and allowed it to operate till the final policy is notified. 

The Delhi government, in its plea, said that Uber and Rapido are continuing the use of non-transport vehicles, including two-wheelers, for aggregation and ride pooling – something that is not permissible under the Motor Vehicles Act. 

The Delhi government said that the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator Scheme, 2023 is pending approval from the competent authority. “Plying of the bike taxis by the respondents cannot, among other reasons, be permitted without complying with conditions like police verification, obligations of installing GPS devices, panic buttons, etc. to ensure road safety and safety of the passengers," the plea said. 

The bench asked Delhi government counsel if the plying bike taxis have private number plates and whether they have permission to work under private number plates. The counsel said that bike taxis must obtain a licence. 

The state government has drafted a policy regarding this and invited public comments. 

The apex court had also pointed out earlier that bike taxis are high risk as there is no insurance cover in case of accidents. 

Also read: Delhi Govt vs Rapido: Supreme Court seeks Centre’s stand on plea against HC order on bike taxi aggregators

Also read: SC defers Delhi govt plea against HC order staying notice against Rapido to Friday