Delhi bike taxi ban puts Swiggy and Zomato delivery partners in a fix

Although the order applies to taxi services only, companies claim their delivery partners have been unfairly targeted and issued challans by the police

It was a routine delivery run for Piyush Kumar, a delivery partner for Swiggy, on the morning of February 21, when he was stopped by Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials.

After being slapped with a Rs 5,500 fine and having his motorcycle impounded, the father of two was rendered unable to work for the next five days.

“The police are fining us riders baselessly. Paying off such hefty amounts is not realistic for us,” he said. “I am hoping to get a refund and some more clarity from the government on the new bike taxi policy so that instances like mine are not repeated.”

Although Kumar’s fine was ultimately brought down to Rs 1,000 after an appeal in the Delhi High Court, he ultimately ended up shelling out a total of Rs 4,500 to cover the fine, legal fees and other miscellaneous charges.

Cases like Kumar’s have begun to surface more frequently in the past few days. The recent ban on bike taxis by the Delhi government has left delivery partners working for food aggregator platforms like Swiggy and Zomato stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Although the order pertains to taxi services only, companies claim their delivery partners have been unfairly targeted and issued challans, causing disruptions and confusion in the last-mile delivery ecosystem.

As a result, consumers using these services are also being affected due to the consequent delivery delays.

“The recent changes in regulations on bike taxi services in Delhi have caused confusion and have disrupted the functioning of food/quick commerce delivery aggregators. Our delivery executives are being wrongly issued challans, although the notification applies only to bike taxi service providers,” a Swiggy spokesperson said.

Some of the challans have been in excess of Rs 15,000, Swiggy claimed. “This has understandably created fear and apprehension among our delivery executives, who are crucial in ensuring that our customers receive their orders on time,” the spokesperson added.

The firm’s Gurugram-based rival Zomato echoed a similar thoughts. “While the notice is only for passenger vehicles, there is some misinterpretation on the ground,” a company spokesperson told Business Standard.

The Delhi Transport Department on February 20 issued a public notice to ride-hailing platforms Ola, Uber and Rapido to stop their bike taxi services.

“It has been brought to notice that two-wheelers having non-transport (private) registration mark/numbers are being used to carry passengers on hire, which is a purely commercial operation and a violation of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988,” the transport department notice read.

The order stated that the first violation will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000, while the second would lead to a Rs 10,000 fine and jail time as well.

Dinker Vashisht, Swiggy’s Group Vice President, Public Policy, Regulatory and Sustainability, in a letter to the Delhi Transport Department, has requested the Delhi Government to intervene in the matter in order to assuage the fears of delivery partners and last-mile delivery workers in Delhi-NCR.

Vashisht said, “The directions have been misinterpreted by Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials, who have started issuing challans to delivery partners.”

"This has led to disruption of services and confusion among delivery partners, who are now apprehensive of providing service as they fear they will be penalised and harassed while on duty," the letter read.

Swiggy says it will continue to work closely with the authorities to seek clarity on the government's directive. “Ensuring that our delivery executives operate smoothly and serve our customers without any interruptions is our top priority," its spokesperson added.