Bike Taxi Ban Lifted in Bengaluru? Here’s What Karnataka High Court Said

Ride-hailing platforms Uber, Ola, and Rapido have resumed bike-taxi services in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka after a two-month pause, following the High Court’s direction to the government to decide within a month on framing a policy to regulate bike taxis.

Earlier, a single-judge bench had ordered a ban on bike-taxi services until the state notified rules and guidelines for operating two-wheelers as contract carriages under the Motor Vehicles Act. As a result, ride aggregators had suspended bike-taxi services since June 16.

Challenging the ban, Rapido, Uber, and Ola argued that it violated constitutional rights. Hearing the matter, a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi observed that bike taxis were a “legitimate business” and that a blanket prohibition was “unconstitutional,” terming it “arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g).”

The bench noted: “After some argument, the Attorney General submits that the government will give serious consideration to the issues raised in the present matter. In view of this, we propose to defer the hearing to September 22.”

While the High Court declined to pass an interim order allowing operations, it cautioned the State: “In no case, when a decision is being taken, should the state put everything into freeze. The police may continue to take action for other offences, but keep in mind this petition is pending.”

Questioning the state’s “de facto prohibition” of bike-taxi businesses, the court stressed that legitimate trade cannot be banned outright under the Constitution. It clarified that while the government was free to regulate the sector, regulation cannot amount to an outright ban.

The bench further stated that if the government chooses not to frame a policy, it must provide proper justification supported by data. The matter will be heard again on September 22.