Private Bikes Cannot Be Linked to Rapido, Ola, Uber: Major Blow to Youth

ASANSOL. Unemployed youth in Bengal who were using their private bikes for commercial purposes under the guise of employment have been dealt a severe blow. The state's transport department has issued new guidelines in this regard. A large number of such youth are associated with service providers like Rapido, Ola, and Uber. They download these companies' apps and register their bike numbers, subsequently receiving bookings. However, this entire process is illegal because neither does the government have any control over it, nor does the aggregator take responsibility if a passenger faces issues, and the government receives no revenue. Therefore, the transport department has now initiated steps to legalize the entire process. It has been notified that no aggregator company will be able to add non-transport vehicles to its platform. All private vehicles already included in this service must be identified and removed from the service within seven days of the notification being issued. The process of commercializing private bikes began during the previous government's tenure as well, but it did not receive a significant response. The same is true for cabs. Cars with private numbers are often rented out as cabs. This causes a massive revenue loss to the government. To prevent this, instructions have been given that private cars or bikes cannot be commercially rented out in any manner. Traffic officials claim that many drivers cannot even produce their licenses. According to sources in the state transport department, certain restrictions similar to app cabs will now be established for bike taxis. The recently issued guidelines state that the state government has banned the use of on-demand cabs and vehicles that are not commercial in service. The transport department's new guidelines instruct ride-sharing and cab aggregator companies to operate their services in accordance with the rules.