Overview

• Justice B Shyam Prasad of the Karnataka High Court ruled that bike taxi aggregators, including Rapido, Uber, and Ola, must halt operations within six weeks due to the absence of a regulatory framework.
• The court dismissed petitions seeking recognition of bike taxis as legal transport services and rejected requests to mandate registration of private two-wheelers as transport vehicles.
• The state government has been directed to draft regulations for bike taxi operations within three months, but the court emphasized it cannot compel regulatory action.
• Ride-hailing platforms have announced plans to appeal the decision, citing its impact on their business and the livelihoods of bike taxi drivers.
• The ruling follows protests by auto-rickshaw and cab drivers and highlights Karnataka's stricter stance compared to states like Delhi and Maharashtra, which have introduced conditional policies for bike taxis.