Maharashtra Proposes Temporary Bike Taxi Framework; Aggregators To Pay ₹5 Daily Fee

The Maharashtra government has proposed a temporary daily fee on bike taxi services operating illegally in the state until the electric bike taxi policy is implemented.

Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said yesterday that illegal bike taxi operators will be required to pay a daily fee of ₹5 and contribute 2% of fare of every ride to a welfare fund for bike taxi drivers which will be administered by the state government, PTI reported. The policy is expected to come into effect from August 1.

“Bike taxi services have been operating illegally in Maharashtra. We have decided that, starting August 1, these illegal bike taxis will have to pay a daily fee of ₹5 plus a 2% contribution to the welfare fund. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the state law and judiciary department for approval,” he said.

He added that the temporary measure will remain in force until the EV bike taxi policy is fully implemented.

Earlier this week, the state government said that bike taxis would be allowed to operate from August, marking a departure from its earlier hardline stance against the service. In fact, in May, the government had asked Google and Apple to remove ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Rapido from their app stores. However, it revoked the order a day later.

Now, the state government will begin issuing permits for bike taxi services from August 1 under the new regulatory framework that requires drivers to possess a Maharashtra domicile certificate, obtain a government-issued badge, meet prescribed eligibility criteria and operate through registered aggregators.

The domicile certificate will ensure that youth from the state receive employment opportunities and to gauge how long the drivers have been in the state and whether they can speak the local language, the minister said.

Sarnaik recently told the state legislative assembly that 4-4.5 Lakh app-based bike taxis are currently operating in Maharashtra without valid permission. The framework will regularise these operations which have so far not fallen under the purview of specific regulations, he added.

Last year, Maharashtra notified rules permitting only electric bike taxis and subsequently undertook enforcement action against aggregators like Uber, Rapido and Ola for operating unauthorised petrol-powered bike taxi services.
Notably, authorities collected fines totalling ₹16.25 Lakh for illegal bike taxi operations between April 2025 and March 2026, and another ₹2.31 Lakh during April and May 2026.

The policy was first floated in May, with the government considering stricter norms for driver verification, vehicle monitoring, and passenger safety amid concerns over riders operating across multiple platforms and frequently switching between apps. The government was also considering if the riders should be allowed to operate for only one aggregator platform in a day to ensure clearer accountability.

Maharashtra first notified the Maharashtra Bike Taxi Rules 2025 in July last year, granting provisional 30-day licences to Ola, Uber and Rapido to transition to electric bike taxis.

The rules mandated that only electric two-wheelers painted yellow and marked as bike taxis could operate commercially. However, the platforms allegedly failed to comply, leading the state to revoke their licences in March this year.

The post Maharashtra Proposes Temporary Bike Taxi Framework; Aggregators To Pay ₹5 Daily Fee appeared first on Inc42 Media.