Uber, Ola Bike Taxis Will Be Impounded if They Don't Halt Operations in New Delhi

New Delhi city authorities will start impounding the bike taxis of companies such as Uber and local rival Ola if they do not cease operations in line with a court order backing a ban on them, a senior government official told Reuters on Tuesday.

India's top court on Monday backed the city government's ban on bike taxis in a setback for US ride-hailing company Uber which had legally challenged authorities to continue offering the services.

The government has argued that bike taxis violate local city laws that require them to have a license to offer such services, while Uber argued in the Supreme Court that the ban hurts the livelihoods of its riders.

Ashish Kundra, the principal secretary, and commissioner for transport in the Delhi government, said the companies should not chase profits and instead focus on passenger safety.

"We will issue an advisory to companies asking them to respect the court order. If they fail to do that, we will start impounding vehicles," Kundra said.

"They have gone beyond the regulatory framework and are clearly on the wrong side of the law," he added.

Neither Uber nor Softbank-backed Ola, the biggest providers of bike taxis in the capital, responded to a request for comment. The two companies were still offering bike taxi services on their app on Tuesday.

Uber says that in 2022, more than 1.9 million trips took place to and from metro rail stations in Delhi, a key market for ride-hailing firms, on bike taxi service Uber Moto. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023