Mumbai: Faced with the proliferation of unauthorised bike-taxis in the state, the govt has decided to introduce rules to regulate this form of transport which require drivers of bike taxis and aggregator cabs to get a state-issued badge from Aug 1. For this, a domicile certificate and knowledge of Marathi will be mandatory. The proposal for this new rule is before the state’s law department and approval was expected by July-end, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik told the assembly on Tuesday.He also said bike-tax operators would need to pay the govt Rs 5 per day and also 2% of the fare per ride towards a welfare fund.This is an attempt to bring bike taxis within a regulatory framework and also generate revenue for the cash-strapped state. “These steps will act as a control on unauthorised bike taxi operators, generate revenue for the state and provide employment to youth,” Sarnaik said.Mumbai Rickshawmen’s union leader Thampy Kurien said kaali-peeli taxis and autos across the state already had a rule of mandatory domicile certificate, police verification and basic knowledge of Marathi for obtaining a public service vehicle authorisation (PVSA) badge. “The rule is applicable to all drivers of passenger vehicles, and govt has now brought aggregator cab and bike taxi drivers under this ambit. They too will have to produce domicile certificate for a driver’s badge,” he said.Sarnaik admitted there were around 4.5 lakh illegal bike taxis operating without a permit in the state and called it a “serious issue.” He was responding to questions in the assembly on the growth of unauthorised bike taxis.Earlier this year, the state had temporarily permitted EV bike-taxis. However, it found there was a proliferation of petrol-operated bike taxis on the roads, which had not been allowed. “We started taking action and penalising petrol taxis. After this, temporary permits for EV bike taxis were stopped,” Sarnaik said. Aggregators including Rapido, Ola and Uber run bike taxis.“We found they were using the same app as the aggregator cabs in order to operate and lodged a complaint with the cyber crime department. But since they were operating through a common platform, we could not enforce this,” Sarnaik said.The issue was raised in the assembly by Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu. “There is no control on bike taxis. They are not subject to rules, unlike auto-rickshaws and black-and-yellow cabs. And they do not contribute to govt revenue. Instead, they create traffic problems and are unsafe for women,” Lande alleged.Prabhu said bike taxis used by food delivery services were causing traffic problems. “They drive rashly and cause traffic disruptions,” he said.In a written reply, Sarnaik also said squads from the transport offices are continuously catching bike taxi services operating without a permit. From April 2025 to March 2026, 814 delinquent vehicles were found. Out of these, 151 vehicles were seized and 14 cases (FIRs) were registered. A fine of Rs 16.2 lakh was collected in this action. In the two months of April and May 2026, action was taken against 211 delinquent vehicles. Out of these, 66 vehicles were seized and a fine of Rs 2.3 lakh was collected.-Inputs by Somit Sen
