Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has ordered officials to stop bike taxi services within six weeks. The move follows a High Court ruling declaring bike taxis illegal without proper regulations.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has asked transport officials to strictly follow a High Court order and stop all bike taxi services across the state within six weeks. This decision comes after the Karnataka High Court ruled that services like Rapido, Uber, and Ola cannot operate bike taxis unless the government sets clear rules under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Justice Shyam Prasad made it clear that without proper rules, “bike taxis are illegal.”
In a letter sent to Transport Commissioner Yogesh A M and Principal Secretary Dr N V Prasad, Minister Reddy wrote,
“The High Court has given three bike taxi aggregators – Uber India Systems, Roppen Transportation Services, and ANI Technologies – a six-week deadline to cease their operations in Karnataka. I have instructed the officials to comply with the same.”
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The minister has directed that immediate steps must be taken to implement this order, and action must be taken against those who continue bike taxi operations without permission.
The issue of bike taxis in Karnataka has been going on for a long time. It first started in 2016 when Rapido, which operates under its parent company Roppen Transportation Services Limited, launched bike taxi services in Karnataka.
However, the state Transport Department quickly declared these services illegal. The government’s main argument was that private two-wheelers are not allowed to be used for commercial purposes under state rules.
Because of this, there were many crackdowns on bike taxi services. In 2019 and 2022, the authorities seized hundreds of bikes being used for bike taxi services. Auto-rickshaw and cab unions also protested strongly, saying that bike taxis were hurting their income and business.
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To protect its business, Rapido filed a case in the Karnataka High Court, asking for permission to operate legally. In response, the Karnataka government launched the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme in July 2021. This scheme allowed bike taxi services but only if the bikes were electric vehicles (EVs).
While the case was still being heard, the High Court gave an interim order that stopped the government from taking any action against Rapido. This helped Rapido to continue operating for some time.
However, problems continued. There were frequent clashes between auto-rickshaw drivers and bike taxi riders. In April 2024, the High Court stepped in again and ordered the government to ensure that bike taxi riders were not harassed. The court made it clear that bike taxi operators needed to be protected from attacks and unfair treatment by others.
In March 2024, the state government decided to withdraw the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme. They said that there were too many safety concerns and that the scheme was being misused. But even after this, Rapido and other bike taxi services kept running because of the interim protection from the High Court.
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Later, on November 12, 2024, the High Court reserved its final judgment on Rapido’s request. Rapido had asked the court to allow them to register two-wheelers as transport vehicles and issue permits under the Motor Vehicles Act. On the other hand, the state government argued that using private white-board bikes for commercial purposes was against the law.
Finally, on April 2, 2025, the Karnataka High Court gave its final decision. The court ruled that bike taxis cannot operate unless the state government properly notifies regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act. This judgment is a major blow to platforms like Rapido, which has around 1.2 lakh riders working in Bengaluru.
Following the court’s decision, the Karnataka Transport Department has instructed all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) to form special squads. These squads will work to find and punish people who are still illegally operating bike taxis, especially in Bengaluru city.
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