Karnataka sets up high-level panel to frame bike taxi policy amid legal tug-of-war

As legal battles over bike taxi operations intensify, the Karnataka government forms a high-level committee to study regulation, frame a policy, and submit a comprehensive report.

The Karnataka government has constituted a high-level committee to examine and submit a detailed report on regulating bike taxi services across the state, even as it continues to contest their legality in court.

The committee, set up on September 10, will be chaired by N V Prasad, Secretary of the Transport Department, and includes top officials from key departments such as transport, urban planning, labour, road safety, Bengaluru traffic police, BMTC, BMRCL, BBMP, and the Pollution Control Board. The Additional Transport Commissioner and Secretary, State Transport Authority, will act as the member secretary.

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This move comes after the Karnataka High Court’s April order suspending bike taxi services across the state, a decision challenged by Uber, Ola, Rapido, and the Bike Taxi Welfare Association. In a significant hearing on August 20, the court termed bike taxis a “legitimate business,” calling the blanket ban “arbitrary and unconstitutional,” and directed the government to take “serious consideration” of the matter, giving it a month to devise a policy.

While services like Rapido and Uber resumed operations after 67 days of suspension, the High Court clarified it had not passed any order allowing aggregators to restart. The court’s interim relief was only to prevent coercive action against individual riders, not aggregator platforms.

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Adding to the regulatory tension, Rapido launched ‘Rapido Bike Direct’ in August, a commission-free service connecting captains directly with riders, prompting Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M to accuse aggregators of violating directives. “We have collected enough material on the violation and will take action,” he said.