West Bengal News: The state government has made the decision to create regulations for “better regulation and safe operation” of private two-wheelers that deliver items in breach of regulations while working for commercial e-platforms. The state government made it clear that two-wheeler owners without valid permits will have to switch to the transport category or face legal action under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act at a meeting with representatives from various On Demand Technology Transportation Aggregators (ODTTAs) and other online platforms for food and consumer goods delivery on September 14.
Government Engagement and Mandatory Conversion
The state government will assist in this conversion process, and operators are welcome to provide the transport department with feedback and suggestions to aid in developing the suggested regulations. “We have asked all the operators, aggregators and other stakeholders to share their views by September 30 and they will be factored into the proposed guidelines,” said a senior official of the transport department. “The state government will keep in mind the interests of the young and unemployed youths while framing the guidelines. But the conversion to commercial mode will be mandatory,” he added. In the state, there are about 20,000 bike taxis in operation. The majority of the two-wheelers used as bike taxis are registered as private vehicles, according to transport department officials. In addition to these operators, numerous bikes are utilised by various e-commerce sites to deliver food or FMCG goods. The total number of bikes in the state would be close to 60,000 if all of them were counted.
Government Considers Options for Number Plates in New Regulations
Senior officials stated that the government was contemplating two approaches while developing the proposed guidelines due to some users expressing their misgivings about switching to yellow business number plates out of fear of social stigma:
- Change your car to a commercial one by paying the required conversion fees, which are close to Rs 2000.
- Pay a lower “permission fee” to use a specific online platform without changing to a yellow licence plate. The user will need to pay the price once more in the event that they switch to another platform later.
Growing E-commerce and Regulatory Gaps
The state administration has recognised that as internet platforms and e-commerce activities grow tremendously, more people will use private vehicles to access these platforms. Senior officials warned that the absence of clear regulations for such activities could present a number of difficulties:
- The Central Motor Vehicle Acts and Rules will be broken throughout the operation
- For these automobiles, the government won’t have any information
- Drivers and passengers are not covered by insurance
- Encourage might operate in such a fleet of two-wheelers
“After a threadbare discussion it was decided that the transport department will come out with a detailed guideline/notification for better regulation and safe operation of these two-wheelers,” reads the minutes of the meeting, chaired by transport secretary Saumitra Mohan. “Senior police officers said a bike owner found to be engaged in commercial operations with a non-commercial registration can be charged a fine of Rs 5,000. “A repeat of the offence will attract a fine of Rs 10,000,” he said.
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