Pune District Magistrate Jitendra Dudi has directed authorities to stop bike-taxi services in the city until they receive official government permission, warning that action will be taken against operators that continue running the services. He has also instructed the Regional Transport Office to act against app-based aggregators that independently display and charge auto-rickshaw fares.
Dudi issued the directions on Thursday, October 15, after a meeting attended by representatives of auto-rickshaw organisations, traffic police and aggregator companies. The meeting was convened amid growing complaints about bike-taxi operations and alleged violations by transport aggregators.
The district magistrate said bike taxis should be stopped whether they are being operated on a trial basis or as a regular service because they do not currently have official government permission. The administration’s position covers all such operations until the required approval is granted.
Auto-rickshaw organisations also urged the administration not to permit bike taxis. Representatives, including Nitin Pawar, president of the Rickshaw Panchayat, raised concerns about the way aggregator applications display fares for auto-rickshaw journeys.
Under the existing arrangement referred to at the meeting, the Regional Transport Authority has the power to determine auto-rickshaw fares. However, the organisations alleged that aggregator companies show their own fares on their applications and charge passengers accordingly. This can lead to disputes when passengers are asked to pay the app-displayed amount instead of the fare calculated through the vehicle meter.
Dudi agreed with the concern and instructed the Regional Transport Officer to initiate action to control what was described at the meeting as arbitrary fare-setting by the companies. The direction places responsibility on the transport administration to examine how app-based bookings and fare displays comply with the authorised fare system.
Regional Transport Officer Archana Gaikwad, Pimpri-Chinchwad Deputy Commissioner of Traffic Police Vikrant Deshmukh and Deputy Regional Transport Officer Swapnil Bhosale attended the meeting, along with representatives of auto-rickshaw organisations and aggregator companies.
The administration has not announced a separate timeline for any future approval of bike-taxi services. For now, the directions mean that bike-taxi operators in Pune are expected to stop services until official permission is issued, while the Regional Transport Office is to proceed with action concerning app-based auto-rickshaw fares.
