The state government on Friday started issuing commercial number plates and permits to the owners of two-wheelers who use their vehicles for business purposes.
Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty handed over commercial permits and number plates to the owners of more than 120 two-wheelers at a programme in Salt Lake.
Officials said the move was aimed at legalising the use of two-wheelers for commercial purposes such as delivering goods.
“We have been receiving complaints from a number of two-wheeler owners who said they were being booked by police for not possessing commercial number plates and permits,” the minister said.
“The state government has made it clear that personal vehicles, including two-wheelers, can’t be used for commercial activities because that is against law. We are happy to issue commercial number plates and permits to some of the two-wheeler owners who are engaged in commercial activities. This should mark the beginning of switching over to commercial number plates by others who have not done so.”
There are some 20,000-odd bike taxi operators in the city and its adjoining areas. Transport department officials said most of the two-wheelers are registered as private vehicles.
Cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have banned the use of two-wheelers with private registration as bike taxis.
For some time now, the state government has been trying to bring the owners of two-wheelers used for commercial purposes within a legal framework.
The transport department has been urging the owners of the two-wheelers to get their vehicles re-registered as “commercial vehicles” but the response has not been encouraging.
A negligible percentage of two-wheeler owners switched to the commercial mode.
Last March, the state government had offered all bike taxi drivers road permits to operate across five interconnected districts. The permits are for “contract carriage”.
“The system for commercial two-wheelers is different from the ones that are privately registered,” said a senior official in the transport department.
“We hope those who received the commercial number plates will inspire others to do so.”
