The decision of the District Transport Officer, East Khasi Hills to ban the operation of app-based two-wheeler taxi services such as Rapido among others has sparked widespread debate with many people expressing strong objection against the order.
It may be mentioned that in an “officer order” issued today, the DTO, East Khasi Hills stated, “As per sub-section (1) of Section 66 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, two-wheelers operating as taxi service availing online or offline method e.g, Rapido, Uber etc with the use of motor cycle are prohibited to ply for the purpose of ferrying passengers. Strict action shall be taken against those violators of the said Act.”
Many people said that the ban on Rapido two-wheeler taxi system was unjustified besides being “anti-people and pro-traffic jam”.
“Shillong city is already chock-a-block with traffic. With Rapido service we can reach our destination in time too at cheaper fare,” Charles L. Kharkongor said.
Another lady resident who identified herself as Malvina Khongwir said that the ban on Rapido and Uber will cause havoc to the traffic system in the city and its suburbs as people will be compelled to use their cars to go to work or any destination.
“In the past I used to take my car to go to work. Now I am using the two-wheeler taxi service of Rapido. If the government stops this service then I’ll have to drive again to work,” Khongwir said.
Another concern raised by many people is the traffic jams in the city. They said that reaching their destination in time was a thing of the past.
“The Rapido service has tremendously helped in not adding to the traffic jam. People nowadays don’t use their own cars as they can avail these two-wheeler taxis which pick and drop them from point to point. So traffic jams have been reduced to some extent,” Bandon Kupar Kharlukhi said.
The ban on the two-wheeler taxi service has also been slammed as anti-people since the service has provided livelihood to a large number of local unemployed youth.
“Many of our youth who are registered with Rapido will now be forced to stay home as they will be out of work. Is this a new policy by this government?” a shopkeeper at Motphran said.
The claim by the DTO, East Khasi Hills that the app-based two-wheeler taxi service by Rapido, Uber and others is illegal as per Motor Vehicle Act is also debatable. Many states in India allowed two-wheeler taxis to operate.
It may be mentioned that in December 2016, a committee set up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to “propose taxi policy guidelines to promote urban mobility” concluded that state transport departments could allow two-wheeler taxis to ply as low cost last mile connectivity solutions for the passengers. It also said that the State Transport Department should allow two-wheeler taxi permits on the lines similar to those for city taxis.
The report has been sent by the Joint Secretary (Transport) of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to Chief Secretaries of all states in India on December 15, 2016 “for perusal and appropriate action”.
On December 13, 2018, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh L. Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha that “under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 the states may issue permits for taxi under section 72 and 73. Therefore it is legal for the states to issue taxi permits for all kinds of vehicles including two wheelers”.
Experts who have done research on the app-based two-wheeler taxi service in India said that the service provide first-and last-mile connectivity besides providing greater affordability to commuters, greater convenience to commuters through quick availability, saving time by better ability to navigate traffic congestion, helping commuters reach areas inaccessible by four-wheelers, easing traffic woes in cities and generating livelihood opportunities.
Some taxi and bus operators who are against Rapido, Uber and Ola alleged that these app-based transport services never pay tax to the government. However, the fact is that since January 2022, the Centre has levied a 5 per cent GST on auto rides booked online.
