Maharashtra Govt Cracks Down on Ola, Uber, Rapido; Google, Apple Asked to Remove Apps

Mumbai: There is big news for those who use bike taxi services of Ola, Uber or Rapido. Taking a strict decision, Maharashtra government has written to Google and Apple asking for the removal of these apps from their app stores. 

What is the reason of decision?

The decision by the government has been taken after allegations of bike taxis running illegally in the state and putting the safety of passengers, especially women, at stake. On Saturday, Rapido app was not available on Apple's App Store for a long time. However, currently these three apps are available on Play Store and App Store.

What did the government say?

On May 15, the Maharashtra Cyber ​​​​Department sent a legal notice to Google and Apple under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. The notice directly ordered the companies to remove the Ola, Uber, and Rapido apps from their platforms and block public access to them. According to reports, the notice warned that if the order is not followed, legal action will be taken against the companies.

What is the reason behind this decision?

According to reports, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik stated that these companies are operating passenger transport services without complying with the regulations of the Transport Department and the Motor Vehicles Act, and without any government approval.

He also stated that these apps lack driver verification, insurance protection, and emergency response systems. Furthermore, a woman was recently killed in a bike taxi accident. Several cases of misbehavior have also been reported. The Transport Minister clearly stated that women's safety is more important to them than employment. 

What did government say about rules?

The government has also clarified that it is not against bike taxis, but only EVs are allowed to operate in Maharashtra. According to reports, companies were given a month's time to submit the documents, but the government has not received any documents yet.

According to reports, the Transport Minister, while directly targeting the Rapido app, also said that Byte Taxi was started by Rapido and had asked its riders to pay the fine if they were challaned during RTO checking. The company would refund this money later. He called this a mockery of the rules.