Bike taxis to resume in Karnataka after High Court verdict

New Delhi: The Karnataka High Court has given a verdict in favour of bike taxis. They said that the state government can no longer refuse to give licenses to the bike taxis. This verdict might just be the first step in the resumption of bike taxi services in the state, which had been banned by the state government last year.

The High Court's ruling in the matter is likely to increase employment opportunities in the state and also be a blessing for commuters. The court verdict followed a challenge mounted by bike taxi aggregators like Uber and Rapido, who had challenged the Karnataka government's ban on bike taxis in the state. The state government had banned the bike taxis saying that these were illegal.

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The court verdict will also provide low cost services to the people of the state. The order was passed by a 3-judge bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi.

The court verdict not only allowed resumption of bike taxis, but it also put the onus on the state government to set up clear guidelines for the operation of bike taxis. The state government can now draft and implement a formal regulatory mechanism for operation of bike taxis in the state.

The state government meanwhile gave a guarded response to the High Court order. The Karnataka Transport Minister, Ramalinga Reddy, was quoted by Network 18 as saying, "I am yet to see the full judgment. I will discuss it with the Transport Commissioner and decide the next course of action."

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Earlier in November 2025, a high powered committee set up by the state government, had submitted a report to the High Court, regarding bike taxis. It had concluded that bike taxis were unsafe and illegal. The committee had said that bike taxis cannot be permitted in the state.

According to the Karnataka government, allowing bike taxis on the roads would be a violation of the Central Motor Vehicles Act. They also argued that bike taxis were causing excessive congestion on the roads and endangering the lives of commuters. Now however, the High Court has ruled in favour of bike taxis and taken into account both the inconvenience caused to commuters, like IT workers and others who use it for daily commute and last mile connectivity, and also the livelihood of gig workers.