Rapido announced that it will cease all of its operations in Maharashtra after the Bombay High Court threatened severe penalty. By Friday at 1:00 p.m., Rapido was required to cease all of its two-wheeler passenger and vehicle services in Maharashtra. The firm received a court order after failing to provide crucial information. And also provide proof of authority, according to a report.
Rapido was challenging in court the state government’s decision to deny bike taxi aggregators a taxi aggregator license. The Karnataka government asked that three-wheeler services be stopped in Bengaluru in October 2022. Further, blaming SoftBank-backed Uber, Ola, and Rapido for overcharging and harassing its customers.
In order to expand its company, Rapido announced its intention to hire two lakh additional bike drivers. This was when it launched its bike-taxi service in Mumbai in October. In November of last year, Rapido was sent with a notice from the Mumbai RTO. Which said to stop operating right away because the state government had not yet given it authorization to do so.
Why Rapido must stop its services:
The bike taxis caused a protest last month close to the city’s RTO. According to the auto-rickshaw union in Pune, which claimed that they were operating “illegally” and harming their business. The auto union demanded that the RTO department permanently end the use of bike taxis.
According to Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf, the petitioner must stop providing its services in order for the case to be taken into consideration. A committee has been formed to look into the possibilities of establishing rules for bike taxis in Maharashtra, the Advocate General also informed the court.
The state administration had stated in its letter that there was no fare structure regulation and no state policy on licensing of bike taxis. The business promised to stop providing its services until January 20, when the court would continue to consider the case.
For more news, click here.