STOP All Bike Taxi Operations Immediately: High Court Order Affects Rapido, Ola And Uber
Earlier in April of this year, a single judge from Karnataka ruled that all bike taxi services provided by ride aggregators like Ola Cabs, Rapido, Uber, and others need to be stopped. Soon after this, a plea was filed by the aggregators to overturn this ruling. Now it has been reported that the Karnataka High Court has upheld the original verdict of ceasing the bike taxi operations and has now ruled the operators must cease their operations from June 16.
Karnataka High Court: Cease bike taxi operations
In the most recent ruling upholding the previous verdict, the High Court of Karnataka has stated that Ola Cabs, Rapido, Uber, and others will have to cease their operations from the 16th of June, Monday. For those who may not remember, earlier on April 2, Justice B. Shyam Prasad ordered all bike taxi operations to stop within six weeks.
Following this, the deadline was then extended till June 15, 2025. Now, with the new division bench led by Acting Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar, the court has refused to stay the single judge's order. They have ruled over the petitions filed by Ola Cabs and Uber, which challenged the verdict of the previous judgment of April 2.
Why has Karnataka High Court stopped bike taxi operations?
The main reason why the Karnataka High Court has ordered bike taxi operations to stop immediately is because of the state government of Karnataka. The High Court highlighted that it has refused to allow bike taxi companies to operate because the state government has refused to frame rules to regulate such services under the Motor Vehicles Act.
While announcing the verdict, the bench clarified that interim relief might have been considered. However, the Karnataka state government has not shown any interest in drafting rules. So, as of now, the bike taxi operations will have to be ceased. The court has stated that the next hearing is scheduled for June 24, 2025, and all parties must submit written responses by June 20, 2025.
Ola Cabs and Uber filed petitions
As stated above, Ola (ANI Technologies), Uber India, and Rapido (Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd.) at the time of the ruling on April 2 filed appeals challenging the April 2, 2025, order. In their plea, they requested the Karnataka High Court to allow bike taxi operations to continue until the appeals are resolved. However, now the court has dismissed the plea based on legal and policy grounds.
What are the other reasons cited by the High Court?
As per the Karnataka High Court, the lack of the state government’s interest in drafting a new policy regarding bike taxi operations is the main reason for the rejection of a plea filed by bike taxi operators. However, in addition to this, the High Court has also noted that the Transport Department has consistently highlighted that using privately registered two‑wheelers for commercial passenger transport is illegal under current motor vehicle laws.
It has also been mentioned that the court has referenced a 2019 expert committee report. This report highlighted that there are significant traffic and safety risks that are caused by the operations of bike taxis in the state. Lastly, autorickshaw unions have also been opposing bike taxis. They have stated that they are facing unfair competition.
At the moment, only the state Karnataka has banned bike taxis. However, it is beleived that other states could also soon impose a similar ban on bike taxis. Earlier the state of Maharashtra and Goa have also asked these bike taxi aggregators to stop their operations.