Mumbai: The opposition, led by NCP (SP) Rohit Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, on Tuesday criticised transport minister Pratap Sarnaik for approving bike taxis by aggregators Ola, Uber and Rapido on a pilot basis across MMR. This approval came days after Rapido sponsored his Pro Govinda League. Sarnaik is the chairman of the Pro Govinda League. Rohit stated that unauthorised Rapido bikes were stopped by the transport minister, discussions took place between the company and the ministers, the company sponsored his social but personal event with crores of rupees, and now Rapido has received official permission in the MMR.Aaditya mentioned that bike taxis were approved within months of raids on the bikes and the subsequent sponsorship of Sarnaik’s event by Rapido. He expressed concerns that bike taxis will add to the traffic chaos and congestion on city roads. “The minister himself did a stunt and raided the bike taxi. Then the company sponsored his Pro Govinda League. And now, in a month, the same company, Rapido, has got permission. When major bridges like Elphinstone are closed, these bikes will lead to traffic congestion. There is no clear regulation. This is nothing but privatisation of public transport to kill BEST,” Aaditya said.“We were providing affordable public transport. Only one person can travel on the bike, and it will cost Rs 15 per km. So who is going to benefit? Who are the riders, where will they come from? Will there be passenger safety? Will they wear helmets? All these questions have not been answered. Rapido got a rapid licence after the raids and sponsorship. The CM is not taking any action against this,” Aaditya said.“In this way, the circle of brokerage is complete, should we say? Here, the ministers’ circle of brokerage completes in a snap, but the chakravyuh of difficulties for the youth, farmers, and women never completes,” Rohit said in a post on X.Rohit Pawar alleged that Sarnaik’s Pro Govinda League took around Rs 10 crore in sponsorship from Rapido and said this was a plain conflict of interest as Sarnaik is dealing with Rapido’s bike taxi service approval as transport minister. Action was taken by the minister against Rapido on July 2 after Sarnaik himself stopped a Rapido bike taxi in Nariman Point. The transport department also filed an FIR against senior officials of Rapido for operating “unauthorisedly” on July 17 and 18.The state transport authority has approved a minimum bike taxi fare of Rs 15 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 10.27 for each subsequent km.
