Last Updated:
The Mumbai Autorickshaw Taximen’s Union will hold a protest at the Andheri Regional Transport Office today.
The protest is against the Maharashtra government’s e-bike proposal.(Photo: Mid-day) (representative Image)
There may be delays in autorickshaw services for commuters in Mumbai and throughout Maharashtra today, May 21.
The recent government legalisation of e-bike taxi services has prompted rickshaw unions to call for a state-wide protest. The Mumbai Auto Rickshaw-Taximen’s Union declared on May 20 that they would stage a large-scale protest march to the Andheri RTO office.
Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) throughout Maharashtra are anticipated to hold simultaneous protests as part of a coordinated movement.
“The state government should have ideally consulted us before formally launching such a scheme. It will affect the livelihood of a lot of auto men directly and indirectly. We will be taking out a massive morcha outside the Andheri RTO office at 11 am on May 21, Wednesday,” Union leader Shashank Sharad Rao said as quoted by Mid-Day.
Union leader Rao reportedly believes that the government has approved this idea in the name of providing jobs for the youth. Ideally, they should have consulted with them before taking such a huge action.
The decision by the Maharashtra government to allow e-bike taxis in April 2025, after a cabinet meeting in which the transport department’s proposal was accepted, is what sparked the protest.
The government is promoting the move as a means of encouraging green mobility and creating jobs for young people by allowing them to work for themselves. The decision is being opposed by rickshaw unions, who describe it as “unilateral” and “unjust” and say it puts the livelihoods of more than 1.5 million auto-rickshaw drivers in the state at risk.
“This approval was granted without consulting any of the existing unions. It’s not just unfair, it’s a threat to our daily survival,” a spokesperson for the Joint Action Committee of Auto Rickshaw Driver-Owner Associations of Maharashtra said as quoted by The Free Press Journal.
Since rickshaw drivers already face a precarious income due to inflation and rising fuel prices, union leaders contend that the introduction of e-bikes into the state’s passenger transport business could cause instability.
Rikshaw drivers have called for the state administration to consult with all parties involved before enacting such drastic restrictions and are requesting an urgent repeal of the e-bike taxi regulation.
- First Published:
