Bend in the road: What Indian laws say about bike taxis

With the recent crackdown on bike taxis across the state of Karnataka, and their last ditch-effort of ferrying people under the guise of 'bike parcel' coming to a halt, commuters and employees are facing the brunt of the bike taxi ban.

These two-wheelers had become part and parcel of a common man's life as they were readily available and could 'bypass' the long-hour traffic jams that a four-wheeler couldn't.

However, on Sunday, the Karnataka High Court's order of suspension of all bike taxi operators, including Rapido, Uber and Ola came into effect.

The immediate aftermath of this directive saw a surge in auto fares across Bengaluru and many other cities with commuters expressing difficulty in their day-to-day life.

Let's take a look at the bike taxi ban in Karnataka and why it came into being.

Bike taxi ban

In April 2025, a single-judge of Karnataka High Court order Ola, Uber and Rapido to cease their bike-taxis operations unless the state government framed proper guidelines. The bench gave them time till June 15 to shut their two-wheeler shop.

After the ban came into effect, there was uproar from people across the state, however, the Karnataka High Court and the government defended it.

One of them being safety. The government believes that these two-wheelers aren't the safest form of travel for commuters especially for women.

However, the other reason they have citied is entangled in legal jargon. The government has said that these two-wheelers have violated the vehicle registration conditions by using a personal two-wheeler as a transport vehicle and many have not even obtained the necessary permit.

The state transport department has clearly stated that bikes registered for personal use cannot be used for commercial purposes.

However, in 2024, the Road Transport Ministry had clarified its stance on 'bike taxis'.

They said that under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, 'motorcycles' fall under the definition of 'contract carriage' and this allows motor vehicles to carry passengers for hire or reward and is engaged under a contract.

The transport ministry wrote a letter to the State and Union Territory stating, "I am directed to say that it has been brought to the notice of this Ministry that certain States/ UTs are, while processing applications for grant of permit, taking a view that 'motor cycle' is not eligible to ply under contract carriage or operate as a transport vehicle."

It further stated," It is clarified that as per Section 2(28) of the MV Act, vehicles having less than four wheels fitted with engine capacity exceeding twenty-five cubic centimeters are also included within the definition of motor vehicles. Hence, 'motor cycles' shall fall within the ambit of Section 2(7) of the MV Act."

Karnataka High Court's judgement

After the single-judge bench's decision, the aggregators decided to challenge the order before a division bench. However, they too decided to dismiss the petition.

Moreover, their plea which asked for additional time to wind-up their operations too was dismissed.

Acting Chief Justice Kameswar Rao said that an interim relief could have been given to aggregators, provided the state government considered drafting a bike taxi policy.