Aggregators transporting riders under parcel bookings?

Bengaluru: A day after the Karnataka High Court ordered the suspension of bike taxi services across the state, officials from the state transport department launched an enforcement drive in various parts of Bengaluru on Monday and seized 103 bike taxis operating in violation of the court’s directive.

Operations were carried out in areas including Majestic, Yeshwanthpur, and Rajajinagar. Regional Transport Office (RTO) authorities confiscated vehicles associated with app-based platforms such as Rapido, Ola, and Uber.

Additional Commissioner of Transport C. Mallikarjuna stated, “The High Court has ordered a stay on bike taxi operations in the state. In line with this directive, enforcement drives have been initiated statewide. On the first day alone in Bengaluru, 103 bike taxis were seized.”

He further emphasized that the transport department has never granted permission for bike taxi operations in Karnataka. “There is currently no legal provision to allow bike taxis, nor is the use of white-board (non-commercial) vehicles for commercial purposes such as ride-hailing permitted,” Mallikarjuna clarified. He warned that continued violation of the court’s order will invite stricter enforcement actions.

In response to the ban, many app-based platforms have allegedly begun offering services under the guise of “parcel deliveries.” Media outlets including NDTV and Moneycontrol have reported instances where passengers are being transported under parcel bookings. These services are still visible on various ride-hailing apps, raising concerns about regulatory evasion.

Last week, a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court denied interim relief to bike taxi operators, including Ola, Uber, and Rapido, effectively suspending their services across cities in the state. In response, Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd., ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Ola), and individual stakeholders such as Varukuti Mahender Reddy (a bike taxi owner), filed appeals challenging the suspension.

The matter was taken up on Friday by a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar. After hearing preliminary arguments, the bench issued notices to the central and state governments and scheduled the next hearing for June 24.

The bench noted that while the earlier single-judge order had directed the government not to take coercive action if it was in the process of framing rules for bike taxi operations, the state government had indicated it was not moving forward with such regulation. Consequently, the court ruled that interim relief could not be granted for continued bike taxi operations.