Bengal cracks down on private vehicles illegally operating as app-cabs
Kolkata, Nov 11
The West Bengal transport department has launched a major crackdown on private vehicles, including four-wheelers and two-wheelers, illegally operating as app-based cabs without the mandatory commercial registration and licences.
The department has directed all app-cab aggregator agencies to identify such vehicles registered on their platforms and remove them from their systems within the next seven days.
According to a notification issued by the transport department, aggregator agencies must ensure that only vehicles holding valid commercial licences and displaying yellow-coloured commercial number plates are allowed to operate through their platforms.
The notification has also made it mandatory for all app-cab aggregator agencies to maintain a central office in West Bengal. The office will serve as a point of contact for the state transport department and traffic police authorities and will also be responsible for addressing customer grievances.
"These new guidelines have already been sent to all the aggregator agencies. They have been directed to submit the complete address of their office in writing to the state transport department within seven days. The guidelines also make it clear that the agencies concerned are responsible for ensuring that their services comply with the Motor Vehicles Act and government regulations. Failure to follow the instructions could invite legal action," a senior transport department official said.
The department recently found that several vehicles, particularly two-wheelers, without commercial licences and yellow-coloured number plates had enrolled themselves with different app-cab aggregator agencies and were accepting passenger bookings.
The official said owners of private vehicles could simply download the relevant applications, register their vehicle numbers, and start receiving bookings without obtaining the necessary commercial permits.
"This is completely illegal. Only vehicles with valid commercial licences and yellow-coloured commercial number plates are eligible to be registered with app-cab aggregator agencies," the official said.
He pointed out that allowing private vehicles to operate as app-cabs had two major implications.
First, passengers using such vehicles could face difficulties if they encountered problems during a ride, as aggregator agencies might refuse to accept responsibility for incidents involving vehicles that were not commercially registered.
Second, the practice resulted in substantial revenue losses for the state government, as such vehicles operated without fulfilling the applicable commercial registration and regulatory requirements.
The department has therefore decided to tighten monitoring of app-based transport services and make aggregator agencies accountable for ensuring that vehicles operating through their platforms comply with the law.
— IANS
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