Karnataka Bike Taxi Ban: Is Your State Next?

A day after Karnataka’s ban on bike taxis came into effect, stakeholders—including ride-hailing platforms like Uber, Ola, and Rapido, as well as thousands of riders and customers—have voiced their disappointment.

The ban follows an April 2025 order by the Karnataka High Court directing all bike taxi aggregators to suspend services within six weeks. The court ruled that bike taxis cannot operate in the absence of formal regulations under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act. It emphasized that no bike taxis should run until the state government notifies a proper policy framework.

The state government has maintained that private motorcycles are being used for commercial purposes without appropriate licensing or permits, violating provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. Officials also cited public safety concerns and law and order issues, including tensions between auto-rickshaw drivers and bike taxi riders, incidents of harassment—particularly involving women passengers—and the misuse of personal bikes for commercial transport (also known as "whiteboarding").

The ban is expected to impact over one lakh riders in Karnataka who rely on these services either full-time or as a supplementary source of income.

States Where Bike Taxis Are Legal

While Karnataka joins Maharashtra and Delhi in banning bike taxis, several other states have permitted them under specific conditions:

• Goa was the first to legalize bike taxis in 1981.
• West Bengal and Mizoram allow them under state-specific rules.
• Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Chandigarh have either issued regulatory frameworks or allow services like Rapido, Ola Bike, and Uber Moto to operate under local permits.

In Maharashtra, a formal policy is reportedly in the draft stage. In Delhi, bike taxis remain illegal under the Motor Vehicles Act, although there are ongoing discussions to permit electric bike taxis.

What is a Contract Carriage?

In January 2024, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued an advisory urging all states to allow bike taxis by classifying them as legal contract carriages under the Motor Vehicles Act.

As per Section 2(7) of the Act, a contract carriage is: “A motor vehicle which carries passengers for hire or reward and is engaged under a contract, whether expressed or implied, for the use of such vehicle as a whole for the carriage of passengers on a fixed or agreed rate or sum—not based on individual fares.”

This differs from stage carriages (like buses), which allow individual ticketing and multiple-passenger pickups along a route.

Aftermath in Karnataka

In a last-ditch effort to continue operations, some ride-hailing apps attempted to rebrand bike taxi services as “bike couriers.” The Transport Department quickly responded, seizing 105 two-wheelers for unauthorized commercial use.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy reaffirmed the government's stance, stating that a bike taxi policy will not be introduced, as it would adversely affect the livelihoods of over 1.75 lakh auto-rickshaw drivers in Bengaluru alone, who operate with legal permits. He also ruled out the revival of the electric bike taxi scheme, citing widespread misuse.