Karnataka High Court orders suspension of bike taxis within 6 weeks

Bike taxi

The Karnataka High Court on April 2 ordered the suspension of bike taxi services in the state within six weeks, saying these cannot operate unless the government issues necessary guidelines.

The court gave the Karnataka government three months to set up rules for bike taxi services under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The orders came on the petition of taxi aggregators who had moved court seeking a directive for the transport department to register two-wheelers as transport vehicles and issue the necessary permits under the Motor Vehicles Act.

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The state government opposed the aggregators, saying bike taxis were illegal, as two-wheelers with white number plates couldn’t operate commercially.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad said the transport department cannot be compelled to register motorcycles as transport vehicles or issue contract carriage permits for bike taxis without a proper regulatory framework.

The court asked petitioners to comply with its the directive and cease operations. It cited a 2019 expert committee report that assessed the impact of bike taxis on traffic and safety, stressing the need for regulatory clarity before allowing these services to resume

Companies like Rapido, Ola, and Uber operate bike taxis in cities such as Bengaluru and Mysuru.