Central government’s motor vehicle aggregator guidelines issued in 2020 encourage using non-transport vehicles by aggregators: IAMAI
Delhi government banned app-based aggregators from plying bike taxis in the NCT region on February 20
Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot has indicated that the state government’s draft aggregator policy might be on the horizon
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has reportedly written to the Delhi government, urging it to not penalise drivers and bike taxi aggregators. This has come on the back of the state government’s order to companies such as Ola, Uber and Rapido to stop bike taxi services immediately.
The internet industry body, representing startups such as Ola, Uber, Rapido, Zomato and Swiggy and tech majors such as Apple and Google, said the central government’s motor vehicle aggregator guidelines issued in 2020 encourage using non-transport vehicles by aggregators.
In a letter cited in an ET report, IAMAI said, “In the absence of such a prohibition, there is a lack of clarity on the position of the government of NCT of Delhi on this clause. We request that the government… consider this clause… and provide clarification on the way forward.”
The internet industry body requested the Delhi government to not take any coercive steps against the vehicle owners of the companies while the government works on a draft aggregator policy that covers bike taxis. It also requested the state government to organise a stakeholder consultation at the earliest to discuss the way forward.
Delhi government has been working on a draft aggregator policy for more than a year and has yet to release its final version. However, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot has indicated that the state government’s draft policy might be on the horizon and would include bike taxi aggregators.
Following the public notice on Monday (February 20), Gahlot tweeted, “Aggregator policy for a two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler is in its final stage and will be rolled out soon helping them to apply for the grant of license under the new scheme.”
While none of the aggregators has said anything on the matter, the ban has yet to come into effect. The Inc42 team was still able to book a bike taxi on Uber, Rapido and Ola at the time of the publication of the story, two days after the ban was notified.
The development also comes as the aggregation of vehicles other than four-wheelers has seen some friction across the country.
Recently, the Maharashtra government refused to grant an aggregator licence to Rapido, with the latter moving the Supreme Court in the matter. However, Rapido was not granted any relief in the matter, as the apex court directed the state government to decide on the matter.
Last October, the Karnataka government banned app-based aggregators from operating auto-rickshaws in the state, stating that the said aggregators were charging higher prices than what was prescribed by the state government.
