The Union government has proposed amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, to allow use of motorcycles as “contract carriers,” which, if approved, will create a legal framework for bike taxis to operate in India.
Currently, bike taxis are operating through aggregators like Rapido, Ola and Uber, but because the Act does not include ‘motorcycle’ in the list of eligible vehicles to act as contract carriage, many states have banned them. Opposition to the bike taxis has come from three-wheelers and taxi unions as it puts them at a disadvantage due to the former’s lower costs.
While regular public carriers are governed under strict laws and pay more for insurance, bike taxes are mostly private vehicles. Private vehicles pay less for registration, insurance and licence for driving private vehicles are easier to get. For operating a regular taxi or other contract carriers the drivers have to clear strict tests.
When bike taxis came, some state governments allowed issuance of yellow number plates to them. But after protests the scheme was stopped. Now bike taxis operate without explicit legal provisions .
An attempt was made by the Union government to clear the legal air around bike taxis early this year through an advisory notification ‘Motorcycles fall within the definition of contract carriage as per Section 2(7) of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act. “It is clarified that as per Section 2(28) of the MV Act, vehicles having less than four wheels fitted with an engine capacity exceeding 25cc are also included within the definition of motor vehicles. Hence, ‘motorcycles’ shall fall within the ambit of Section 2(7) of the Act,” the advisory notification had said. That did not clear the air so now the centre is coming with an amendment
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has added “motorcycle” to the definition of a “contract carriage” in the proposed amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act that have been put out for public comments. To retain flexibility for the future through addition of another provision the central government has sought powers to notify any vehicle it deems fit to act as contract carriage. This provision will do away with the need to amend the act every time a new category of vehicle enters the “contract carriage” business.
“If motorcycles do become contract carriage with the passage of the law it will change everything. A whole set of rules will have to be put in place to govern them which includes registration, insurance, driver training and even fines for traffic offences,” an industry official said.
The amendments also seek to remove the separate category of maxicab from the list of contract carriers. Instead it seeks to create two categories of light motor vehicles. In the category I vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg will be put. Category 2 light motor vehicles will be the ones weighing between 3,500 kg to 7,000 kg.
Maxicabs are vehicles that can carry more than six and less than 12 people excluding drivers. These will now call under light motor vehicles.
The amendments in the MV Act also includes electric vehicles under its ambit, creates a category of three-wheeled motor vehicle and proposes changes in rules for grant of drivers’ licence. The last date for sending comments for the proposed amendments is October 15.
