Karnataka minister sets mid-May deadline to enforce bike taxi ban

Bengaluru: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has instructed the authorities to strictly enforce the high court order banning bike taxi services by mid-May. 

On April 2, the High Court of Karnataka gave ride aggregators six weeks to cease all their operations as aggregators of bike taxis. It also ordered the state government to ensure that all bike taxi operations are stopped after six weeks. 

The verdict was given on writ petitions filed by rider aggregators. The petitions had urged the court to direct the transport department's secretary, commissioner and additional commissioner to consider the application submitted by rider aggregators for permission to register personal motorcycles as transport vehicles. 

The time was given to dismantle the infrastructure they set up to operate bike taxi services. 

On April 25, Reddy directed Transport Secretary NV Prasad and Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety Yogeesh AM to ensure that Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited (Rapido), and ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (OLA) cease bike taxi operations as per the court deadline (mid-May).