Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto may soon come under Maharashtra's bike taxi regulations, with the state weighing a mandate for an all-electric fleet and a 2% per-ride contribution from these platforms towards a fund for driver welfare.
These platforms currently function under national-level regulations, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, and the Code on Social Security, 2020, since Maharashtra has no dedicated rulebook governing them, unlike the state's 2026 Aggregator Rules that already cover ride-hailing services like Ola, Uber and Rapido, The Indian Express has reported.
Officials in the transport department, led by Minister Pratap Sarnaik, are learnt to be drafting changes to the existing Bike-Taxi Rules of 2025 that would pull delivery and e-commerce companies into a regulatory net currently reserved only for cab-hailing aggregators.
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Under the draft changes, any company running vehicle fleets for parcels, products or packages would be classified as a "delivery service provider", a definition broad enough to cover Swiggy, Blinkit and Zepto for the first time.
Companies falling under this bracket would need to switch entirely to electric vehicles, fit GPS trackers, carry insurance, follow fare caps set by the Regional Transport Authority, and register for a distinct licence ID.
A share of every fare, 2%, would flow into a welfare corpus meant to fund driver pensions, accident cover, EV loans and support for their children's education, according to the newspaper.
Confirming the news, Sarnaik told The Indian Express that the revised policy would cover all bike rides of up to 15 kilometres. He added that fleet electrification and other compliance requirements for aggregators would come into effect only after the proposed amendments receive approval. The draft has now been sent to the state's Law and Judiciary Department for review.
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The proposed changes build on Sarnaik's statement in the Assembly last month, where he said bike taxi drivers would soon be required to carry domicile certificates and public service vehicle badges. He had said the measures were aimed at creating more job opportunities for local youth.
A transport department official, who spoke to The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity, said delivery and e-commerce companies currently operate outside the state's bike taxi regulations, making it difficult for authorities to monitor their operations or intervene when disputes arise.
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