Karnataka transport minister orders implementation of HC directive to halt bike taxi services

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy ordered officials to enforce a High Court ruling suspending bike taxi services within six weeks.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Friday directed officials to enforce the High Court’s order to suspend bike taxi services across the state within six weeks.

Karnataka transport minister orders transport department to crackdown on bike taxis across the state. ((Pic for representation))

In a letter addressed to Transport Commissioner Yogesh A M and Principal Secretary of the Transport Department, Dr. N V Prasad, the minister emphasized the need for immediate compliance. "The High Court has given three bike taxi aggregators — Uber India Systems, Roppen Transportation Services, and ANI Technologies — a six-week deadline to cease their operations in Karnataka. Accordingly, I instruct the department to implement the court’s order," Reddy wrote.

The directive follows an April 2 ruling by Justice Shyam Prasad, which barred companies like Rapido, Uber, and Ola from operating bike taxis unless the state government officially notifies specific regulations under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Without the necessary guidelines and rules in place, bike taxi services remain illegal, the court said.

The ruling has dealt a major blow to bike taxi platforms, particularly Rapido, which has claimed that Bengaluru alone has around 1.2 lakh active bike taxi riders.

The crackdown also comes amid rising pressure from the city’s auto-rickshaw and cab driver unions, who recently held a massive protest demanding stricter action against unauthorized bike taxi operations.

Responding to these concerns, the Karnataka Transport Department had already announced intensified enforcement efforts. Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) have been instructed to form special squads tasked with identifying and penalizing illegal bike taxi operators in Bengaluru.

With the six-week deadline now formally backed by the transport minister’s directive, enforcement measures are expected to pick up pace across the state.

(With agency inputs)