3 min readPuneFeb 14, 2022 09:09 PM IST
First published on: Feb 14, 2022 at 09:09 PM IST
After several autorickshaw unions in the city came together on Monday to protest against bike taxis, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Ajit Shinde warned citizens off the service offered by cellphone-based aggregators, saying that the bike taxis were unsafe and didn’t have permission to operate in Maharashtra.
“We have seized 275 vehicles till now and confiscation is in progress. This mode of transport is illegal and unsafe. They don’t have any kind of insurance cover. I appeal to people that as citizens we should boycott such illegal transport,” he said, adding that he had formed four teams to crack down on the bike taxis. The violators are being slapped with a Rs10,000-12,000 fine and their driving licences are suspended for three months and vehicle registrations for a month, he said.
The RTO also said a three-member committee including district collector and deputy commissioner of police (traffic) had proposed that the government not issue new autorickshaw permits.
The protest at the Regional Transport Office was organised under the banner of the Maharashtra Riksha Panchayat by the Riksha Chalak Malak Sangathana Kruti Samiti, Maharshtra Riksha Panchayat, Shivneri Riksha Sangathana, Aam Admi Riksha Chalak Sangathana, Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena, Ajinkya Riksha Sangathana and Ashirwad Riksha Chalak Sangathana.
Babasaheb Kamble, president of the Maharsahtra Riksha Panchayat, said the RTO had seized 136 bike taxis on Monday and that Deputy Regional Transport Officer Sanjay Sasane was meeting the crime branch DCP to discuss lodging criminal cases against the bike taxi operators.
Kamble also said the Centre was planning to legalise bike taxis. “The central government is thinking of legalizing these bike taxis. We request the government to consider how difficult it will be for us,” he said. Pointing out that for every one lakh people, 800 auto permits are given, the union leader said that autorickshaws would be forced off the roads if the government allowed “5,000 bike taxis”.
Sanjay Govde, of the Riksha Chalak Malak Sangathana Kruti Samiti, said, “If the officials do not act on their assurance, we will keep agitating until the demands are met.”
Kumar Shetty, another protester, complained about finance companies. “One of our concerns is the way finance companies treat us. It’s inhumane and should stop. Almost 500 autorickshaws were confiscated from Pune by Bajaj Finance and other companies. Covid has affected us badly. How do we repay the debts? There should be some way out,” said Shetty.
The RTO said a three-member committee including DC and DCP (traffic) had proposed that the government not issue new autorickshaw permits. (Express photo) 
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