Karnataka High Court lifts ban on bike taxis, allows operators to seek permits

The Karnataka High Court on Friday lifted the ban on bike taxi services in the state, quashing an earlier single-judge order that had directed suspension of such operations until the government framed specific rules.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Joshi allowed appeals filed by cab aggregators, including Ola, Uber and Rapido, as well as bike taxi operators and associations, challenging the April 2025 order that halted bike taxi services.

The court held that motorcycles used for bike taxi services fall within the definition of “transport vehicles” under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and that the state cannot deny permits merely on the ground that the vehicle is a motorcycle.

The bench said bike taxi operators are at liberty to apply for contract carriage permits to operate motorcycles as bike taxis.

While the state government is free to examine all relevant aspects while considering such applications, permits cannot be refused solely because the vehicle involved is a motorcycle.

“Taxi owners are at liberty to file applications for registration of the vehicle as a transport vehicle… We direct the State government to consider such applications for registration of the owner of vehicle as transport vehicle and grant permission to operate as contract carriages,” the court said.

It added that the concerned authorities may impose conditions in accordance with law, including under Section 74(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, but applications cannot be rejected on the premise that motorcycles cannot operate as transport vehicles or contract carriages.

The court also granted liberty to aggregators to file fresh applications, directing that any such pleas be considered in accordance with law and the observations made in the judgment.

In an order dated April 2, 2025, a single-judge bench of Justice B Shyam Prasad had directed that all bike taxi services in Karnataka be halted within six weeks,

The court had held that in the absence of a policy decision and specific rules permitting bike taxis, such services could not be allowed.

The deadline was later extended following requests from affected operators, who subsequently moved appeals before the Division Bench.

Some individual bike taxi drivers and the Bike Taxi Welfare Association had also joined the appeals, which were allowed by the court on Friday.

During the course of hearings, the division bench had repeatedly questioned the state government over delays in framing rules to regulate bike taxi services, indicating that it was inclined to lift the ban if such rules were not put in place expeditiously.

The court also observed that the existing regulatory framework governing taxi services requires reconsideration and suitable amendments to adequately address and regulate bike taxi operations.