Mumbai: Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Tuesday demanded that the cyber police discontinue all app services for unauthorised bike taxi operations across Maharashtra and file FIRs against respective company owners. This was part of the strict stance taken by his ministry against unauthorised bike taxi services in the state.In this regard, he sent an official letter to the additional director general of police, Maharashtra cyber department. Transport commissioner Rajesh Narvekar has also sent a similar letter to the cyber crime department, sources in the ministry said.Sarnaik stated in the letter, a copy of which is with TOI, that for the past several months in the state, bike taxis have been operating through various apps without any valid permission, government approval or compliance with transport department regulations. He noted that the number of unauthorised bike taxis was increasing, and described this as extremely serious from the perspective of public safety.He also alleged that these unauthorised services offer no guarantee of passenger safety, with driver verification, insurance coverage, women’s safety measures and emergency response systems being grossly inadequate. The letter stated that this posed a serious risk to the lives of citizens.Sarnaik has also referred to a recent accident. He has noted that an accident involving an unauthorised bike taxi on the Mulund-Goregaon Link Road in Mumbai resulted in the tragic death of a woman, and the letter also mentions that an FIR has been registered at Navghar police station in this matter. He further clarified that incidents of this nature were being recorded at various police stations. Officials from aggregator bike taxi firms were not available for comment.An official from the transport department said licensed autorickshaw and taxi drivers were being unjustly affected in their business due to financial transactions being conducted through these apps in open violation of the govt’s transport regulations. The demands made to the cyber crime department included immediate shutdown of the online operations of unauthorised bike taxi apps, strict action against the concerned app companies, drivers and management under the Information Technology Act and the Motor Vehicles Act, and registration of criminal cases against company owners.Sarnaik has issued a clear warning, saying : “The state govt is committed to the safety of citizens and will not shield any unauthorised system that violates the law.”
