Overview
- Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced on March 9 that provisional bike-taxi permissions for Uber, Ola and Rapido have been cancelled across Maharashtra.
- The move enforces the Maharashtra E-Bike Taxi Rules 2024, which allow services only with 100% electric vehicles and gave aggregators a 30-day compliance window.
- RTOs have been told to intensify checks on illegal two-wheelers and to book vehicle owners, with 130 bikes penalised and over ₹33 lakh collected in fines since April 2024.
- Authorities cited complaints about safety, including incidents involving women passengers, and instances of petrol bikes operating contrary to the electric-only mandate.
- Issuance of new auto-rickshaw permits is suspended statewide from March 9 pending a cabinet-approved SOP, with officials noting roughly 1.4 million existing permits and targeted regulation in 23 cities over 500,000 population.