Rapido is a popular name when it comes to bike-taxis. It has made looking for cabs immensely easier and cheaper. Bike-taxis are a great way for passengers to travel alone from one place to another. Hiring an entire four-wheeler just for one person is more wasteful and it increases traffic congestion as cars take up more space than bikes. However, today, the Bombay High Court ordered Rapido to suspend all services in Maharashtra.
Bombay HC Orders Rapido To Suspend Services In Maharashtra
The Bombay High Court, today, has issued a cease-and-desist to Rapido for all its services in Maharashtra till the 20th of January. This was done after it was brought to the court’s notice that Rapido was operating within the state without a proper licence for bike-taxis.
The bench comprising Justices Gautam Patel and SG Dige directed Rapido to immediately cease all its operations within the state of Maharashtra. The company complied with the directive. Within an hour of the issuing of this directive, the company made its mobile application completely inoperative within the state of Maharashtra.
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Company Claims Applying For Licence
The directive was issued after the advocate Dr Birendra Saraf brought it to the court’s notice that the company was operating bike-taxis in the state without following proper licencing procedures. This led to the court issuing a cease-and-desist.
Fereshte Sethna, the advocate representing Rapido in this dispute, claims that the company already applied for proper licencing. However, the state has no proper guidelines in place for taxi operators, whether two, three or four-wheeled. They failed to issue them a bike-aggregator licence.
They also highlighted that Rapido has been following all the protocols, guidelines and conditions specified in the Motor Vehicles Act. However, the court retorted that this hadn’t been the case and that they were not going to be allowed to carry on in such a manner. The court has also said that they will form a committee to examine the case and form proper guidelines for taxis-aggregators.
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