Karnataka HC Bans Bike Taxi Services Till Rules Are Framed

The Karnataka High Court has ordered a ban on bike taxi services provided by Ola, Uber, and Rapido in the state.

The HC has given a time of six weeks to the companies to halt their operations, Bar and Bench reported.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Ola, Uber, Rapido, among others, to recognise bike taxis by allowing registrations of vehicles as transport vehicles.

During the hearing, Justice B Shyam Prasad also asked the government to frame rules for bike taxi services within three months.

It is pertinent to note that bike taxi services have been under the lens of the authorities in Karnataka for some time now and have also faced protests from auto and taxi unions.

In March last year, the Karnataka government withdrew the electric bike taxi scheme citing its blatant misuse and other reasons. The government said then that the provisions of the scheme were being violated and non-transport bikes (with white number plates) were being used as bike taxis. It also flagged concerns around women safety with illegal bike taxis operations. 

Later in April last year, the Karnataka HC directed the state government to protect the operations of bike taxi services in Bengaluru. The order came in response to a clutch of petitions filed by the Bike Taxi Welfare Association over reported clashes between auto drivers and bike taxi operators in the city. 

In July, all regional transport offices (RTOs) in Bengaluru were also asked to form special investigation teams to crack down on unauthorised bike taxis, including electric bike taxis.

In December last year, Uber launched women-only bike rides in Bengaluru, as a part of its move to offer a safer and more convenient ride option for women.

Karnataka isn’t the only state where bike taxis came under the government’s scanner. The aggregators have also faced issues in Delhi and Maharashtra in the past. 

However, the Maharashtra cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to allow bike taxis to operate in the state. Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said that only electric bike taxis will be allowed to ply on the roads under the new policy which aims to promote EVs. He added the bike taxi policy will generate 20,000 to 25,000 jobs.