The Karnataka government has constituted a high-level committee to examine and submit a comprehensive report on the operation and regulation of bike taxi services in the state, even as it is contesting the legality of such services in court.
The committee was set up on September 10 and will be chaired by N V Prasad, Secretary, Transport Department.
The panel will comprise several officials, including the Directorate of Urban and Land Transport commissioner, the labour department commissioner, transport and road safety commissioner, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation managing director, the joint commissioners of police in charge of traffic and law and order in Bengaluru, senior representatives of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and a senior officer from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. The additional transport commissioner and secretary, State Transport Authority, Bengaluru, will serve as member secretary of the committee.
The decision to constitute the committee follows a Karnataka High Court order in April that directed the suspension of bike taxi services across the state. The order was challenged by five major players—Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, Varikruti Mahendra Reddy, ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ola), Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd (Rapido), and Bike Taxi Welfare Association.
In a crucial hearing on August 20, the Karnataka High Court recorded the advocate general’s submission that the government would give “serious consideration” to the issues raised. The court had adjourned the matter to September 22, giving the state government a month to decide on framing a comprehensive bike taxi policy.
The division bench termed bike taxis a “legitimate business” and called the blanket prohibition “unconstitutional,” describing the ban as “arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g).” The court emphasised that “lives are at stake in this matter” while criticising the government’s approach.
Following 67 days of suspension, Rapido and Uber resumed their bike taxi operations on August 21. However, the Karnataka High Court later said that it had not passed any explicit order allowing aggregators to resume operations.
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During proceedings, the court had only restrained the state from taking coercive action against individual riders, not aggregator companies. When informed that certain platforms had restarted services, the court stated, “We have given no orders. If they have started their business, you can take whatever action you want.”
Amid the uncertainty, Rapido launched ‘Rapido Bike Direct’ in late August—a commission-free lead-generation service connecting bike taxi captains directly with verified customers. The company positioned this as a means to help drivers earn a livelihood without commercial obligations.
This led Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M to state that aggregators had violated court directives. “Aggregators did not comply with the court’s direction even after it was made very clear that they were not allowed to resume bike taxi services. We have collected enough material on the violation. We plan to take action against the aggregators,” he had said then.