Pune’s bike taxi services face a 15-day ultimatum from 17 auto-rickshaw unions, which have asked the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to stop unauthorised operations and warned of a protest if the services continue across the district.
Representatives of the unions, operating under the Pune District Rickshaw Drivers and Owners Association Action Committee, met Deputy RTO Swapnil Bhosale and submitted an application seeking an immediate halt to bike-taxi operations. The unions said they would surrender their autorickshaws and badges at the Pune RTO office and begin a protest if the transport department does not act within the deadline.
Ashok Salekar, chief of the Shivneri Auto Union, said bike-taxi services were continuing despite directions from the district administration that pilot operations should be stopped until the aggregators obtain the required licence. The unions have also threatened to demand the resignation of State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik if their demands are not met.
Auto-rickshaw drivers told the authorities that unauthorised bike-taxi services were reducing their passenger base and affecting their earnings. Ramesh Toradmal, an auto-rickshaw driver, said the services had caused financial losses and were placing drivers under severe financial distress. Another protester questioned why auto-rickshaw drivers were penalised for violations such as not wearing a uniform or displaying the required badge, while bike-taxi operators allegedly continued to attract passengers without valid authorisation.
Bhosale said the Pune RTO had already initiated action against unauthorised bike-taxi services following directions issued by the Pune Collector on October 15. The directions called for the immediate suspension of pilot services operated by bike-taxi aggregators without valid licences.
According to Bhosale, the RTO registered a first information report after detecting a violation near Vishrantwadi. He said the services continued even after the FIR, prompting the RTO to request the Pune Police Commissioner to stop the aggregator app’s operations. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) has informed the RTO that the cyber department is working on the process of stopping the app, although legal issues are delaying the action.
The Pune RTO and Pimpri-Chinchwad RTO have deployed squads to monitor unauthorised bike-taxi operations. Bhosale also said Uber had started bike-taxi services in Pune without a valid licence and that action was expected from the Pimpri-Chinchwad RTO. He added that no aggregator had so far received a licence from the authorities to operate bike-taxi services.
The dispute places Pune’s transport administration between two immediate pressures: enforcing licensing requirements and responding to competing claims over access to passengers and livelihoods. The unions are also seeking the display of Regional Transport Authority-approved fares on aggregator applications, linking the licensing dispute to fare transparency for commuters.
Dr Keshav Nana Kshirsagar, president of the Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha, has called for a demonstration at the Pune Collectorate on November 2. The demonstration will seek an end to bike-taxi services and the display of RTA-approved rates on aggregator apps. The unions’ 15-day ultimatum remains the immediate deadline for the transport department.
