By Shahid Hakla Poonchi 

The Jammu and Kashmir administration’s decision to halt Rapido’s bike taxi operations has sparked a debate that reaches far beyond transport law. 

A question about permits and aggregator rules now sits at the center of a much larger public debate about unemployment, mobility, affordability, and the widening gap between policy and daily life.

Authorities say Rapido’s bike taxi service operated without approval under the J&K Motor Vehicle Aggregator Rules, 2023. Officials also point to passenger safety, insurance standards, accountability, and driver verification as central concerns. Those arguments hold legal weight. 

Public transport demands oversight, especially in a region where security and monitoring remain central parts of governance.

Public frustration, however, comes from the selective nature of the ban.

Rapido’s cab and auto services continue to function. Delivery riders working with food and parcel platforms move through Srinagar and Jammu every day on motorcycles without interruption. Citizens therefore see a contradiction that the administration has failed to explain convincingly. 

If app-based mobility services already exist on Kashmiri roads, many people ask why passenger bike taxis alone invite prohibition.

That question is now sparking this controversy.

Citizens usually accept regulation when rules appear fair and consistent. Public trust weakens when policies appear uneven. Kashmiris now see one category of commercial two-wheelers treated as acceptable while another category faces closure, despite similar operating models and similar use of digital platforms.

Government officials could have used this moment to build a regulatory system suited to modern urban mobility. Instead, the administration chose a route that many commuters and riders see as........

© Kashmir Observer