Mumbai, April 1 (IANS): The Maharashtra Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday cleared the introduction of e-bike taxis in the state. Transport Minister, Pratap Sarnaik, said that the Cabinet has given its approval to the state transport department’s proposal for e-bike taxies with an objective to curb air pollution and also to generate jobs. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the introduction of e-bike taxies will create 10,000 jobs while in rest of Maharashtra another 15,000 jobs would be generated, taking the total to 25,000, he added. According to the minister, bike taxies are currently operational in 22 states across the country. Minister Sarnaik said that the e-bike taxi fare is estimated at Rs 3 per km. He hinted that it would be quite cheap compared to Ola, Uber car taxis, kaali-peeli taxis, and auto-rickshaws and would reduce travel costs for the people of the state. “Given the importance of women’s safety, a clear policy has been formulated, along with necessary guidelines. A partition between the driver and passenger is mandatory. During monsoon, the e-bikes can raise a temporary cover. It is also mandatory for the bikes to be equipped with a GPS system. The pillion rider must wear a helmet and the bike taxis will be painted yellow,” said the minister. Incidentally, the e-bike taxi service was included in the Chief Minister’s 100-day action plan. The minister said that the transport department is mulling providing a grant of Rs 10,000 to the children of kaali-peeli taxis to purchase e-bike taxis. The grant will be provided through the corpus of Rickshaw Mahamandal.