Bike taxi services in Bengaluru will be stopped in six weeks as the Karnataka High Court has directed the bike taxi aggregators like Rapido, Uber and Ola not to operate unless the state government issues relevant guidelines and rules under the Motor Vehicles Act.
A single judge, Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad, on Wednesday, passed the order while dismissing a batch of petitions filed by Uber India Systems Private Limits, Ani Technologies Private Limited, Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd and others and gave the state government a three-month deadline to frame the necessary rules and guidelines.
The HC ruling has caused distress to students and young executives, who are dependent on bike taxis, which serve as cost-effective and better alternatives to public transport.
The ‘Namma Metro’ train fares were hiked by 50 per cent, the bus fares revised by 15 per cent, and diesel prices shot up by ₹2 and the poor last-mile connectivity, the unruly auto drivers and the poor condition of the city roads, had made bike taxis popular due to their affordable rides (₹10 per km). But the latest ruling has dealt a strong blow to Bengaluru-based startup Rapido and other bike taxi platforms like Uber and Ola.
Rapido spokesperson, in a statement, said: "The High Court of Karnataka has directed aggregators to cease bike taxi operations after six weeks and has accordingly instructed the state transport department not to take any adverse action during this period. Karnataka-born Rapido is concerned about the welfare of the lakhs of bike taxi captains onboarded on the platform and will evaluate and pursue appropriate legal remedies once the detailed order is made available."
While the commercial use of privately owned (white-board) two-wheelers had led to states like Delhi and Maharashtra banning them, states like Goa, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have permitted bike taxis and rental services to operate.
In February 2024, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued an advisory stating that motorcycles qualify as contract carriages as per Section 2(7) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It urged states and Union territories to process contract carriage permits for motorcycles too. However, it is the prerogative of the states to frame guidelines and grant permits to bikes as ‘transport’ is a state subject.
Two days back, the Maharashtra cabinet gave its nod for bike taxis to operate in the state. Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the bike taxi policy would generate 25,000 jobs and clarified that only electric bike taxis would be allowed to ply.
Karnataka, on the other hand, was the first state in the country to launch an electric bike taxi policy in 2021. But it does not allow private and non-EV two-wheelers to be used as bike taxis.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who welcomed the high court order, said the app-based platforms were operating without any regulation, raising safety concerns of the customers. The government contended that it could not grant licence under the Karnataka On-demand Transportation Aggregator Rules 2016, as it did not include motorcycle aggregators.
