Pune police have registered a First Information Report against Rapido for allegedly operating bike taxi services without the licences and permits required for paid passenger transport, intensifying state scrutiny of app-based two-wheeler services in the city.
The FIR was registered at Vishrantwadi police station on Friday after Regional Transport Office officials reportedly found a Rapido-linked motorcycle carrying a passenger for payment near Yerawada. According to the police case, the vehicle was registered as a non-transport vehicle but was being used to provide passenger transport through Rapido’s online platform.
The action followed a direction by Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi on Thursday that Rapido stop its two-wheeler pilot services in the city. Dudi said the services had begun without a licence and warned that legal action would follow if the company did not comply. He also said the service would not be allowed to resume until Rapido secured the necessary authorisation.
The FIR states that the motorcycle was used for paid passenger transport through the platform at about 6.50 pm near Yerawada. The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, in connection with the alleged violations.
The dispute centres on the regulatory status of vehicles used for app-based bike taxi services. The RTO inspection cited in the FIR identified the use of a non-transport vehicle for carrying passengers in return for payment, while the district administration has maintained that the service requires permission from the transport authorities before it can operate.
The police case comes as state authorities examine bike taxi operations that are being run without the permissions required under the existing transport framework. For commuters, the regulatory action affects the availability of a private two-wheeler-based mobility option in Pune. Rapido’s two-wheeler pilot services will remain stopped in the city until the company obtains the licence required by the district administration, according to Dudi’s direction.
