Nearly three years after the Madras directed it to regulate operation of bike taxis, the TN transport department is to soon frame rules in accordance with the guidelines of the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) for aggregators.
Once approved, aggregators will need to pay `6 lakh to `10 lakh for obtaining a licence and spend a considerable amount every year on recruiting and training drivers. Once rules are introduced, transport officials say, two-wheelers deployed for commercial purposes including those used for delivering food and other essentials will be fitted with yellow number plates.
For instance, in Goa, one of the very few states where bike taxis are legal and aggregators pay permit fees, users pay `20 for the first kilometre and `10 for every additional km travelled. In TN, where bike taxis are unregulated and no permit fees are collected, most firms charge `7 for the first 5km and the per/ km charge is `12.
Bike taxis and even door delivery costs in TN might also get costlier once the regulations come into place. This is when the State Government should intervene and fix fares for all forms of vehicles deployed by aggregators, particularly two-wheelers as it is used by the maximum number of passengers of late.