Karnataka Minister Asks Officials To Implement HC’s Bike Taxi Ban

Karnataka’s transport minister Ramalinga Reddy has reportedly asked his department officials to enforce the High Court order to suspend bike taxi operations within the state.

An Indian Express report said that Reddy wrote a letter to transport commissioner Yogesh A M and the principal secretary to implement the HC orders. A transport official told the publication that the department will comply with the Court’s order and necessary actions will be taken after the end of the six week period i.e May 14.

The latest blow to the ride-hailing apps like Rapido, Ola and Uber comes days after the HC had given a timeline of six weeks to halt bike taxi services in the state. It passed its order on April 2. The HC was hearing a petition filed by these bike taxi aggregators seeking recognition of bike taxis in the state by allowing them to be registered under the vehicles act.

At the time of hearing, Justice B Shyam Prasad also asked the government to frame guidelines and rules for bike taxis in the state. The Court observed that while the Motor Vehicles act does permit the registrations of two wheelers but in the absence of any specific guidelines, it renders plying of bike taxis on road as illegal.

Lately, there has been a big uproar in Karnataka in relation to the illegal operations of bike taxis. The driver and autorickshaw unions staged massive protests against these operations which forced the transport department to conduct a special enforcement drive against such services.

Moreover, the demand for a proper framework for the plying of bike taxis in the state also stems from the need for women safety.

Karnataka also had to shut down its e-bike scheme which was introduced in 2021 in an effort to improve first and last-mile connectivity from metro, bus and railway stations due to outrage from unions citing blatant misuse. In response, bike taxi unions have also shown resistance.

The Bike Taxi Welfare Association had filed a petition in the HC citing reports of clashes between auto drivers and bike taxi operators in the city. It is pertinent to note that in relation to this petition, the HC had asked the state government to protect the operations of bike taxis in Karnataka.

While Karnataka is still battling it out, the Maharashtra government approved a proposal to allow bike taxis to operate in the state last week.