Rapido, Uber, Ola pause bike taxi operations in Karnataka following HC order

With the ban kicking in, pending formation of rules under section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, commuters are already feeling the pinch, with some complaining about having to shell out more money to hire autorickshaws. Akash Kollur, lamented on X, “I was paying a maximum amount of Rs 55 for a bike taxi from Thippasandra to Indiranagar everyday to my office. Currently, I need to pay Rs 85 for autorickshaw. Hiring offline autorickshaws will be like IPL auction in Bengaluru.”

The ban comes after a division bench of the Karnataka High Court refused to stay a single bench’s April 2 order that directed all bike taxi operators to suspend operations within six weeks which was later extended by a few more weeks. Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao observed on June 13 that an interim relief could have been given to aggregators, provided the state government considered drafting a bike taxi policy. “However, in this case, the state government has clearly made a policy decision (of not being interested to frame a bike taxi policy),” he noted.

State Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has emphasised that the government is not inclined towards drafting a bike taxi policy and that white-board two wheelers cannot be used for commercial purposes. Several bike taxi operators and industry bodies like National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) requested the state government to roll back the ban and called for a comprehensive bike taxi policy to aid the lakhs of drivers dependent on such operations.

On Sunday, Namma Bike Taxi Association wrote a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressing concerns over the livelihood of lakhs of gig workers engaging in bike taxi operations. The association, in its letter, stated, “Over 1,00,000 gig workers in Bengaluru and across Karnataka are losing our right to earn and feed our families because of a blanket ban on bike taxi services. Some of us work all 7 days, covering 10-12 hours a day, just to feed our families. We ride in the hot sun, heavy rain, and traffic to keep the city moving.”

It further stated, “Passengers also suffer. Many use bike taxis for quick, low-cost rides. These are the only affordable rides for thousands, especially where buses are few. We do nearly 8 crore trips in a year. Who will help these riders now?”

Meanwhile, Rapido had earlier argued that a blanket ban in the absence of regulation would directly impact the livelihoods of over 6 lakh people across Karnataka. The company also submitted that it had disbursed over Rs 700 crore to captains and paid over Rs 100 crore in GST contributions across categories in Bengaluru over the last years.

Rapido had stated that over 75 per cent of bike taxi riders use the platform as their chief source of livelihood, earning an average of Rs 35,000 per month. The company also said that two-wheeler contract carriage had been legal since the inception of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988, with an advisory to this effect issued by the Centre reiterating this position in law.