During an important hearing in the High Court on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) on the issue of ban on bike taxi in Karnataka, women passengers said that two -wheeler service is not only cheap and convenient, but is one of the safest travel options for them.
Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi were hearing the appeal filed by Ola, Uber and Rapido. In this, the April Judge’s order of April has been challenged, under which their operations were banned.
The earlier judgment said that in the absence of specific guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, bike taxi aggregator ‘cannot legally provide bike taxi services in the state.
The court also decided that the transport department of the state could not be obliged to register motorcycles as transport vehicles or to issue contracted carriage permits.
On behalf of a female passenger requesting a party to be made in the case, Senior Advocate Jayana Kothari urged the court to consider the voice of women who depend on the bike taxi daily.
In response to court questions on security protocols in other states, Kothari cited other measures including restrictions in West Bengal and efforts to encourage women bike taxi drivers as well as background investigation of riders. He argued that these regulatory steps make the service more secure and inclusive.
Citing the policy of Rajasthan, he said that police verification of drivers is mandatory and there is a ban on running vehicles of minors. Senior Advocate Uday Hola, who is representing Uber, also spoke in favor of lifting the ban. He said that states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala had earlier banned bike taxis, but now they have amended their policies and allowed them.
Citing limited metro coverage of Bengaluru, Hola emphasized the importance of two -wheeler service for connectivity till the last destination. He argued, ‘Look at the metro system here. There are only two lines here. Even with more lines, they will not cover the entire city. Hola cited a recent figure, showing that there was an increase of 18 percent in traffic jams in Bengaluru after the ban on bike taxi.