Companies like Ola and Uber, which provide bike taxi services through apps, may face difficulties if they continue this service in the capital. Delhi government has said that if these companies do not follow the court order banning bike tax, then their bike taxis will be confiscated. The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Delhi government’s ban on bike taxis. This was a shock to Uber who had appealed to the court to continue this service. The Delhi government had argued in the court that bike taxis violate city laws as they do not have a license for this service. Uber said that due to this ban, its riders will lose their livelihood. Ashish Kundra, principal secretary and transport commissioner of the Delhi government, told Reuters that these companies should focus on the safety of passengers instead of chasing profits. He said, “We will issue an advisory to these companies asking them to comply with the court order. If they do not do so, we will start seizing the vehicles.” Uber and Ola did not respond to requests for comment. Both these companies were offering bike taxi service through their apps on Tuesday also. The Supreme Court had stayed the High Court order in which these bike taxi operators were allowed to continue service in Delhi. The High Court had directed the Delhi government not to take any action against these firms until a new policy is made. The vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal had stayed the High Court’s May 26 order. Along with this, the information of Delhi Government’s lawyer about giving notification of the final policy before the end of July was recorded. Two separate petitions were being heard in the Supreme Court. These petitions were to challenge the High Court order of May 26 of the AAP Aadmi Party government in Delhi. Last week, the court had sought answers from the central government in this regard. The Delhi government had approved the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Scheme last month. In this, cab aggregators and delivery service providers were regulated in the capital.
