MUMBAI, Sept. 16 -- Fares of e-bike taxis were announced by the transport authorities on Monday, capping months of anticipation for the much-awaited service. The fares, fixed by the State Transport Authority (STA) and cleared by the state transport department, will be governed by the Maharashtra Bike-Taxi Rules, 2025. The base fare for bike taxis will be Rs.15 for the first 1.5km, and Rs.10.27 for every additional kilometre, compared to autorickshaws - base fare Rs.26 and Rs.17.14 for every subsequent kilometre; and black-and-yellow taxis - base fare of Rs.31 and Rs.20.66 for every additional kilometre. The transport department also said on Monday that it will offer app-based bike-taxi aggregators a provisional licence ahead of a permanent licence so that they can roll out the service as soon as possible. In the intervening month-long period, ride-hailing aggregators such as Rapido, Uber and Ola must comply with the documentation required to secure a permanent licence. These developments will bring relief to commuters across the state where the bike taxi service is being rolled out. The state announced a policy for bike taxis in April, for cities in Maharashtra with a population of more than 1 lakh. The new policy will regulate various aspects of the service, including fares. Until now, there were no checks on bike-taxi fares, which were arbitrarily decided by aggregator companies. The fares were fixed after intensive discussions, said an official with the state transport department. They were fixed at a meeting of the STA held on August 18, chaired by state transport secretary Sanjay Sethi. A formal announcement has taken almost a month as the minutes of the STA meeting were signed only on Monday, the official said. The fares have been fixed using the formula devised by the Khatua Committee, the same formula used to revise and update the fares for autorickshaws and taxis, he added. Until now, bike taxis were operated illegally across Mumbai and elsewhere, with the RTOs registering cases against 123 bike taxis operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in the last couple of months. Welcoming the new policy, an Uber spokesperson said, "The Maharashtra government's decision to grant Uber a provisional licence to operate bike taxis is a win for commuters and earners alike. People across the state have embraced bike taxis for their speed and value, and today's approval allows us to serve them at scale while creating thousands of flexible earning opportunities. We have already submitted our licence application and will continue to work with the government on next steps. We are confident that the transport department will expedite the registration process for commercial bikes and enhance last mile connectivity."...