Karnataka HC allows bike taxi operations till June 15

Bike taxi

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday extended the deadline for bike taxi operators, including Rapido, to halt operations till June 15.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad passed the order after considering an interlocutory application filed by Roppen Transformation Services Pvt Ltd, which operates Rapido bike taxis.

In the application filed on April 28, 2025, the company sought a six-week extension, citing the Centre’s draft Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines issued on January 22, 2024. It told the court that states like Odisha, Gujarat, Delhi, and others have already introduced policies aligned with the Centre’s draft.

Also, read: Karnataka High Court orders suspension of bike taxis within 6 weeks

Roppen said it had urged the Karnataka government in a meeting on April 23, 2025, to bring in a similar policy and noted that the state is currently working on a comprehensive framework for bike taxis. The company added that its services meet the growing demand for affordable urban transport and that any disruption could affect the livelihoods of six lakh registered riders in Karnataka.

The court had earlier ordered all bike taxi services in the state to stop by mid-May, unless the government introduced a policy to regulate them. The April 2 order by the same bench had given a six-week window to comply.

Also, read: Karnataka govt in a fix over framing rules for bike taxis

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had earlier called on the Karnataka government to establish a regulatory framework to safeguard the livelihoods of thousands of bike taxi riders. However, transport minister Ramalinga Reddy has instructed officials to enforce the High Court’s order suspending bike taxi services across the state within six weeks.