Examine panel report, frame guidelines for bike taxi aggregators: HC to state
The state govt is empowered and duty-bound under Section 67(3) and Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 to regulate such services. Hence, the petitioner moved court seeking a direction to the state to enact and enforce a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework governing aggregators in Tamil Nadu, including the operation of bike taxi services in the light of Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025. He also sought a direction to the state to take necessary steps permitting the registration of motorcycles as transport vehicles and granting appropriate permits enabling their lawful operation in terms of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Rules.
However, a critical regulatory vacuum exists due to the state govt’s failure to notify a specific scheme for non-transport motorcycles used for passenger aggregation. Madurai: Madras high court has directed the state to examine the report of the expert committee and frame suitable guidelines/rules/bye-laws/Act as the case may be for bike taxi aggregators in Tamil Nadu within a period of six months. The court passed the order while disposing of a public interest litigation filed by R Naveen Kumar. The petitioner stated that app-based bike taxi services, have become an integral part of the transport ecosystem in Tamil Nadu. These services provide essential last-mile connectivity and serve as a primary source of livelihood. The regulatory vacuum has created problems in two major aspects: one is the absence of safety standards and accountability, which resulted in a threat to public safety; the second is the absence of a state mechanism to obtain a permit for a two-wheeler, thereby affecting the livelihood of the riders.