It’s 9:15 PM on Friday, June 13, 2025, and big news is hitting Karnataka. Starting Monday, June 16, bike taxi services like Rapido, Ola, and Uber will stop running here. The Karnataka High Court made this call, saying there’s no legal setup for these services under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. This change is shaking up Bengaluru, where bike taxis have been a go-to for quick, cheap rides.
The issue kicked off with a court order on April 2, 2025, from Justice B Shyam Prasad. He said bike taxis can’t operate without proper state rules and gave aggregators six weeks to shut down. After some back-and-forth, including pleas from Rapido and others, the deadline got pushed to June 15. Today, a division bench with Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao said no to delaying it further. The next court date is June 24, but for now, the ban is on.
Bike taxis have been a mixed bag in Karnataka since around 2015 when Rapido started. Ola and Uber jumped in later, and they grew fast. The state tried an Electric Bike Taxi Scheme in 2021 to sort things out, but it fell apart in March 2024 over safety worries and complaints. Auto and taxi drivers have been against them, arguing they steal business. Last July, 133 bikes got seized during protests, showing the fight. Still, many folks liked the low fares for short hops.
This ban hits hard. Rapido says over 6 lakh riders, making about ₹35,000 a month, rely on it to get by. They’ve paid riders ₹700 crore and ₹100 crore in GST in Bengaluru alone. Ola and Uber are also losing out big time. Riders met Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy recently, begging for a fix, but the government isn’t changing course. The transport department, run by Secretary NV Prasad, says no new rules are coming, and Commissioner Yogeesh AM insists private bikes can’t be used for work without a plan.
Commuters are feeling it too. People used bike taxis to dodge pricey autos or reach metro stops. Students like Poojita Katari from Christ University are stressed about higher costs and longer waits. Auto unions, like Karnataka Rajya Chalakara Parishath, are happy, saying it saves their jobs. Some, like Pavithra Hegde, who had a friend in an accident, back the ban for safety reasons.
The central government’s 2024 advisory said motorcycles can be contract carriages if states set rules, but Karnataka hasn’t. Places like Delhi allow electric bike taxis; Karnataka doesn’t. Rapido argues this ignores the advisory and hurts livelihoods, but the court says the state hasn’t tried to make a policy. With no last-minute help, services stop Monday.
Bengaluru’s traffic could get messier. Auto fares might jump, and options will shrink. Riders are talking about more legal steps, but right now, the ban holds. Everyone’s waiting to see if the government moves before the next hearing.
