Govt: Private driving license holders can drive taxis

Government reiterates commercial driving license not a requirement to drive a passenger vehicle or carrier registered for commercial uses.

The Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways (MoRTH) has guided state governments to abide by this new rule following a July 2017 Supreme Court order that read, “There is no requirement to obtain a separate endorsement to drive the transport vehicle if the driver is holding a license to drive a light motor vehicle (car/ jeep). He/she can drive a transport vehicle of such class without any endorsement to that effect.”

Until the order, a commercial license was mandatory to drive a vehicle registered for commercial purposes. With the 2017 ruling, personal driving license holders can only operate commercial vehicles of the type class they have been endorsed for on their license. The rule extends to taxis, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws and motorbike taxis. However, the commercial driving license is still required for trucks, buses and heavy commercial vehicles, as before.

The move to widen the scope of the personal driving license has been done with a hope to enhance employability of license-holders, who would otherwise have to wait for up to a year to get a commercial vehicle license. Some quarters in the government are also of the view that having more eligible drivers will enhance transport options for the masses and eventually bring down the requirement for private vehicle ownership.