The Maharashtra state government, after ordering a major action against several bike taxi service offering apps in the state, has now pulled back on its stance after 24 hours.
On Friday, the government ordered that apps like Ola, Uber and Rapido remove their illegal bike taxi services from the apps and from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
A senior Cyber department official told the Indian Express that they were trying to halt bike taxi operation without disruption regular taxi and auto services on the platforms. “We are trying to work around a way to cease bike taxi operations without blocking all standalone ride-hailing apps,” the official said.
The conflict between the apps and the Maharashtra government began after Rapido launched its bike taxi operation in November 2020 without state approval.
The company's application was rejected, and it was directed to submit a proposal to the state transport authority.
The application was once again rejected in December 2022.
In 2023, the Bombay High Court reprimanded Rapido for operating without licenses and directed it to suspend bike taxi services in Maharashtra for a week.
It also passed a resolution prohibiting two-wheelers from being used as transport vehicles citing safety concerns and traffic.
The Supreme Court also rejected Rapido’s challenge to the order and sent the matter back to the High Court.
Despite the inconclusive legal back and forth, the platforms kept operating the services.
In September 2025, Maharashtra granted a provisional 30-day licence to Ola, Uber and Rapido to let them transition to electric bike taxis under the Maharashtra Bike-Taxi Rules 2025. The rules stated that only electric two-wheelers painted yellow could be used as a bike taxi. They should also be marked as such.
The platforms, however, failed to comply, and the the state revoked their licenses in March this year.
The platforms have continued to operate the services.
After the state detected that there were about 715 Rapido, 43 Uber, and 18 Ola bike taxis operating in the state, fines worth Rs 11.85 lakh were collected.
The state also issued the May 15 notice that allows the government to remove unlawful content and strip them of legal protection in case they fail to comply with the rules.
Ashutosh Srivastava, Partner at SKV Law Offices, told the India Express, “Section 69A is the only provision for blocking online services.” The provision t requires Central government orders, not state cyber notices.
Despite the opposition to bike-taxis, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik acknowledged their importance. “Despite opposition to bike taxis, I realised the importance they held in places like Goa could be replicated in Maharashtra because of the large number of single passengers,” he said.
He also had said that the the apps lacked proper driver verification, insurance protection, and emergency response systems. A recent bike taxi accident involving the death of a woman was also part of the discussions.
