Written by Tuntun Kumar
Last Sunday, the transport department of the Delhi government issued a public notice banning all two-wheelers as taxis in the state. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, no privately owned two-wheelers can be used as transit vehicles. I have been a rider with one of the companies offering this service in Delhi NCR for over a year. I found out about the ban through a news report the day it was announced — shortly after I woke up, ready to head out. It was as if someone had pulled the rug from underneath me. My main source of income threatened, I feared for my financial security and that of my family.
I am the sole earner in a family of six. After I lost my father about two years ago, I had to ditch all my plans for higher education and start hunting for a job. I work for about 12 hours a day and make somewhere between Rs 20,000 to 26,000 monthly. So far, there has been no communication from the company’s end about the Delhi government’s announcement. Bike services are running as per usual. However, if caught, I am liable to fines going up to Rs 10,000, jail time, and the suspension of my licence. These are costs, monetary or otherwise, that I am simply incapable of paying. For the last five days, I have had to forego multiple trips from Delhi, for fear of penalties. This has been a huge and unplanned loss of income.
The ban and how it was implemented bring up a few questions. First, why has the state suddenly taken note of this violation? The Act has been in place since 1988, and app-based aggregators started running bike taxis in Delhi NCR as early as 2016. Why now? The process to get our personal bikes registered as bike taxis with the company we are employed at has been simple so far. How were companies able to fly under the radar for years on end?
Second, even if the ban is to take effect, why must riders have to pay the penalties? Companies are also liable to a fine of Rs 1 lakh in case they are found in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act. But riders caught will be heavily penalised, as well. I was not even aware that such an Act exists, let alone that I am in violation of it. I have been under the illusion that I am working within the law, doing a respectable job.
Finally, why was the ban implemented in such a rush? We were given no notice, it was set to be implemented the minute that it was announced. Where am I supposed to go? How am I supposed to find another job on such short notice? With no instruction on the plan of action ahead or even acknowledgment of the ban from my company, riders are continuing to go out and work, unaware that they are in violation of the law and will have to face consequences for the same if caught. This is irresponsible on so many levels. I operate out of Noida for the most part. I cannot even imagine what this ban would mean for fellow riders in Delhi. If the situation needed to be rectified, the government should have taken a reasonable amount of time to implement the ban.
In my opinion, a ban is not a solution in any case. In my home, there is a saying: “Ghar mein chooha ghus aaye, toh chuhe ko bhagate hai, ghar nahi jala dete.” (If a rat enters your home, the solution is getting rid of the rat, not burning the house down). Penalising people trying to do respectable work, starved of alternatives, is going to aggravate the issue, not resolve it. Bike-taxi services have helped the economy of this city in innumerable ways. They allow for thousands to be employed, for companies working in India to grow and contribute to the economy, and make travel easier and more affordable for many other young workers in the city. All of these things help generate employment and revenue.
The task of any government is to generate employment. Why are they instead taking employment opportunities away? I plan on continuing with this line of work. The hope is that it doesn’t come at too heavy a cost. The precarity that this ban has introduced into my everyday life feels like a heavy enough cost already, though.
The writer is a bike rider in Delhi NCR
