Uber, Rapido Bikes Back on Karnataka Roads; State Yet to Finalise Policy

Ride-hailing platforms Uber and Rapido have resumed bike taxi services in Karnataka after a two-month long ban, according to MoneyControl reports. However, Ola is yet to restart the service. The services were suspended on June 16. The ban forced many office-goers, who were dependent on bike taxi services, switch to personal vehicles.

“The high court has given us a month to decide whether to frame a bike taxi policy. But the court has not permitted them to resume services. We will bring this to the notice of the court. A decision on enforcement will be taken after discussions with transport department officials,” Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy told MC.

The resumption of bike taxi services came after the Karnataka High Court questioned the state government’s ban on the ban, asking why the mode of transport could not be regulated instead of prohibited.

On August 20, Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Joshi, while hearing petitions from ride-hailing platforms, said the issue required serious consideration. He noted that “every trade is permissible unless regulated” and “bike taxis could not be treated as “res extra commercium”.

The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, opened the door for private motorcycles to operate as passenger vehicles, subject to state consent. However, Karnataka resisted the move due to lobbying from auto and taxi unions.

Notably, the state was the first to introduce an Electric Bike Taxi Policy in 2021, only to scrap it three years later under pressure from auto rickshaw groups.

"The Karnataka High Court's progressive stance marks a critical moment in recognising bike taxis as an integral part of the urban mobility ecosystem. This development calls upon the state government to engage constructively and work towards a robust regulatory framework, rather than resorting to an outright ban," said Adi Narayan, president of the Bike Taxi Welfare Association, as quoted by the news publication.

The division bench clarified that while it would not intervene in policy decisions, it would assess whether the state’s action was arbitrary or taken in bad faith. “Our concern is not with the policy itself, but whether it is arbitrary,” the court observed. The case has been adjourned to September 22.

Bike taxi services have been off the roads since June 16, following the High Court’s refusal on June 13 to stay an earlier single-judge order. The April 2 ruling by Justice B Shyam Prasad had directed that bike taxis be halted unless the state introduced rules under the Motor Vehicles Act. The deadline, initially six weeks, was later extended to June 15.