Ahmedabad’s bike taxi services face regulatory action after the city’s Regional Transport Office issued notices to Rapido, Ola and Uber over the use of privately registered two-wheelers for paid rides. The companies have been given seven days to explain why their aggregator licences should not be suspended or cancelled, according to the notices reported by the Times of India.
The RTO’s notices centre on the vehicle categories covered by each company’s aggregator licence. The transport authority has said that licences were issued for specified commercial vehicle categories, including taxis, autorickshaws and commercially registered two-wheelers, but that the platforms were offering services through categories for which approval had not been granted.
The notice issued to Ola’s operator, ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, questioned the company’s use of private motorcycles for paid rides. The RTO said Ola’s licence covers autorickshaws, taxis and commercially registered two-wheelers, while its app also offers rides using privately registered motorcycles.
Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd faces a similar challenge. Its licence, according to the notice, covers autorickshaws and four-wheel taxis. The RTO has questioned the company’s offering of bike-taxi rides through privately registered motorcycles, which fall outside the categories identified in the licence.
Rapido’s operator, Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, has been asked to respond to questions involving both bike-taxi and four-wheel taxi services. The notice states that Rapido’s licence covers transport-category autorickshaws, while the platform also aggregates privately registered motorcycles and taxis.
The notices refer to alleged violations of the Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guideline 2020, along with other transport department rules and regulations. The companies must submit satisfactory explanations within seven days. The notices indicate that failure to do so could lead to suspension or cancellation of their aggregator licences.
The action brings the regulatory status of app-based two-wheeler rides into focus in Ahmedabad, where such services connect passengers with privately registered motorcycles rather than vehicles operating under commercial permits. The RTO’s position, as described in the notices, is that the category and registration status of vehicles used for aggregator services must match the permissions granted to the platform.
The issue also has a labour and mobility dimension. Bike taxis are used by passengers seeking lower-cost or quicker point-to-point travel, while riders use them as a source of platform-based income. Any enforcement action could affect both groups, although the immediate notices concern the companies’ licensing compliance rather than announcing a citywide ban.
State-based auto unions have opposed the use of two-wheeler taxis by ride aggregators. Their objections have added to the wider dispute over competition between app-based services and conventional commercial transport operators. The companies’ responses to the Ahmedabad RTO within the seven-day deadline will determine the next regulatory step.
