The Maharashtra Cyber Department on Friday (15th May) issued notices to Apple and Google seeking the removal of unauthorised bike taxi applications of aggregators such as Uber, Ola and Rapido from app stores. The notices were issued by the Office of the Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber, invoking Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. They directed the companies to remove the applications from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and disable access to them.
This comes after Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, earlier this week, wrote to the Maharashtra Police’s cybercrime department to shut down the unauthorised bike taxi apps and register cases against the owners of these firms. “We have sent letters through Maharashtra Cyber to Google and Apple regarding these apps. Bike taxis are operating illegally in Maharashtra, and action is being taken accordingly,” Sarnaik told the Indian Express. The Maharashtra government has maintained that bike taxi services are not legally permitted under the existing regulatory framework.
The action is part of a major crackdown by the government on unauthorised transport apps. Earlier this week, the transport department ordered action against private bus aggregators and unauthorised app-based mobility platforms over alleged illegal fare practices.
The Cyber Department declared the bike taxi services illegal
The notices raised concerns relating to passenger safety, and described the driver verification mechanisms, insurance protections, women’s safety measures and emergency response systems as “highly inadequate”. They stated that bike taxi services being operated through these applications were “unlawful and in violation of the existing legal and regulatory framework”. It was alleged in the notices that the platforms have been operating passenger transport services “without obtaining valid permissions, government approvals, or compliance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Transport Department and the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.”
According to the notices, several cases have surfaced across Maharashtra where passenger safety violations were alleged. In one of the cases, a bike taxi service was involved in the death of a woman passenger. “Recently, a serious incident came to light wherein a bike taxi service operated through one of these applications allegedly resulted in the tragic death of a woman. A criminal case has been registered in this regard,” the notices stated, adding that several similar cases had reportedly been registered across Maharashtra.
The Cyber Department warned Apple and Google that non-compliance with directives from Indian law enforcement agencies could invite legal action under provisions of the IT Act and intermediary liability rules.
Maharashtra govt denies rumours of blanket ban on Uber, Ola, and Rapido
The government has, however, claims of blanket ban on Ola, Uber, and Rapido taxi aggregator services.
The official X account of Maharashtra DGIPR addressed the misinformation with a fact check. In a post, the DGIPR dismissed blanket ban on taxi aggregators like Uber, Ola, and Rapido, adding that only unauthorized bike taxi services have been sought for termination.
महाराष्ट्रात ओला, उबर आणि रॅपिडोच्या सर्व सेवा पूर्णपणे बंद करण्यात आल्याचा सोशल मीडियावरील दावा दिशाभूल करणारा आहे. #FactCheck #DGIPRFactCheck
— MAHARASHTRA DGIPR (@MahaDGIPR) May 15, 2026
राज्यात बेकायदेशीरपणे सुरू असलेल्या अनधिकृत बाईक टॅक्सी सेवांविरोधात परिवहन विभागाने कठोर भूमिका घेतली आहे. #ओला, #उबर आणि #रॅपिडो… pic.twitter.com/69jjCPbNbc
State government’s emphasis on electric vehicles
The State Transport Minister said that the state government’s action aims to ensure passenger safety while promoting the use of electric vehicles under Maharashtra’s broader Electric Vehicle transport policy. He added that the government’s priority was clear, stating that “women’s safety is more important than employment,” while referring to recent complaints involving bike taxi riders, including an alleged misconduct case involving a woman passenger and multiple police complaints at police stations.
Sarnaik clarified that the government is not opposed to the concept of bike taxi services, but certain aggregators such as Ola, Uber and Rapido have failed to comply with Maharashtra’s EV bike taxi policy framework. He said that the aggregators were granted temporary permissions to regularise operations and submit the required documents, but they did not comply.
He said that the state government had permitted electric bike taxis and had granted temporary one-month permissions to aggregators to complete documentation and formalities. However, the aggregators have not submitted any documents and continue to operate illegal oil-powered bike taxis, “despite the policy allowing only EV bike taxis”. “If we shut down the app, then the illegal taxis will be shut down,” he said.
