While the maxi taxi project intends to serve satellite cities and rural areas within Maharashtra, the bike taxi service has been approved for operation in urban and metropolitan areas.
02 Jan 2025 | 5611 Views | By Amit Vijay M
As part of a 100-day plan to improve the state's transport system, Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis recently announced that, Maharashtra will introduce bike taxis and maxi taxis in 2025, which are shuttle services that can carry 10-12 passengers.
While the maxi taxi project intends to serve satellite cities and ...
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As part of a 100-day plan to improve the state's transport system, Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis recently announced that, Maharashtra will introduce bike taxis and maxi taxis in 2025, which are shuttle services that can carry 10-12 passengers.
While the maxi taxi project intends to serve satellite cities and rural areas within Maharashtra, the bike taxi service has been approved for operation in urban and metropolitan areas.
The proposals for maxi taxis and bikes are almost ready for implementation, according to an official statement by the state government.
The state government has announced that ride-hailing services like Uber, Ola, and Rapido will be allowed to operate in Mumbai within a 10-kilometer radius. In contrast, in other cities in Maharashtra, the operational limit will be set at 5 km. Aggregators will be required to pay a registration fee of Rs 1 lakh and maintain a minimum fleet of 50 two-wheelers. For fleet operators with over 10,000 vehicles, the proposed regulations mandated fee is set at Rs 5 lakh.
The draft regulations stipulate that each bike must be equipped with GPS technology. Additionally, registration and basic training for bike operators will be mandatory for aggregators.
Regarding maxi taxis, the state recognises that the unregulated sector already provides similar services with 12-seater vehicles. By implementing the maxi taxi proposal, the state aims to enhance affordable mobility options for the general public.
Apart from increasing public transport avenues, to combat pollution, and following the central government's 2021 vehicle scrapping policy, the Maharashtra government has decided to retire 13,000 government and privately owned vehicles that have surpassed 15 years of service, including those in the categories of government-semi-government vehicles, local self-government vehicles, and public transport vehicles.
Maharashtra has over six facilities designated for decommissioning of vehicles, comprising three in Pune, two in Nagpur, and one in Jalna. These locations will enable the relevant departments to procure new vehicles. The state transport corporation has also firmed up plans to retrofit buses that are over 15 years old with LNG (liquefied natural gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas) kits.
Additionally, the state has mandated the revision of its 2021 electric vehicle (EV) policy within the next three years after having fared well to emerge as one of the top 3 states in the country leading EV adoption.
Maharashtra also recorded the second-highest number of EV registrations at 4,39,358 vehicles, according to the latest Vaahan data.
The original 2021 EV policy aimed for new vehicle registrations to account for 10% by 2025 and sought to achieve 25% electrification of public transport across six targeted urban areas, namely Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Amravati.