Karnataka govt imposes ban on bike taxi service, Rapido launches ‘bike parcel’

Bike-taxi aggregator, Rapido, on Monday, launched a new service of ‘bike parcel’ in Karnataka, after the High Court refused to stay an earlier order stopping all bike taxi services in the state.

Karnataka imposes ban on bike taxis, Rapido launches bike parcel

 The order came after the Karnataka government took a policy decision not to permit such operations. As reported by Business Standard, while the ‘bike taxi’ option became unavailable in Bengaluru to comply with the court’s order, Rapido replaced it with a ‘bike parcel’ service.

 The app showed a message for its users, “Starting June 16, 2025, our bike taxi services in Karnataka will be paused in compliance with recent High Court orders.”

It further added, “While we deeply believe in the value bike taxis bring to daily commuters, we respect the law and will fully abide by the directive. We remain committed to the communities we serve and hopeful for a future where convenient, affordable mobility is accessible to all.”

While bike taxis remained available on ride-sharing apps like Ola and Uber, the rides were not accepted by the drivers.

In April, a court order directed all bike taxi operations in the state to cease operations within six weeks unless the regulations were framed to allow them.

The Karnataka High Court heard appeals filed by the bike taxi aggregators, including ANI Technologies (which owns Ola) and Uber, against the order passed in April.

In the order passed on June 13, the Karnataka High Court stated: “Since the State said that it took a policy decision not to permit bike taxis, there was no basis to issue a stay.”

However, the HC bench acknowledged that the issue involved both public interest and the livelihoods of drivers.

Netizens react

 The new initiative by Rapido is receiving positive feedback on social media.

A user wrote, “The bike taxi ban starts today in Karnataka. But the Product Owner at rapidobikeapp has already bypassed the law.” She further added, “Can’t book a ride? No worries – just parcel yourself to work. Call it: PaaS - Passenger as a Service.”

Another user wrote, “Not even 8am, and Bengaluru is choked already. Thanks to the biketaxi ban, had to take an auto. Give me walkable shortest paths to the bus stops, and bike lanes, please. This is no way to create cities.”

Many users bashed the state transport department for its inaction.

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