Bumpy: Impact of Karnataka HC -Bid on Bicycle -Taxis

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Operating Munt Primer | Bumpy: Impact of the ban on the Karnataka High Court on the bicycle -taxis The Supreme Court ordered that shared mobility agents, including Rapido, Uber and OLA, stopped the operations of bicycle taxis in the state within six weeks due to the absence of specific state regulation around the service. (HT) Summary The Court gave the state government three months to come up with rules for bicycle taxis. The Karnataka High Court banned bicycle taxis until the government has drawn up clear guidelines under the Vehicles Act. How significant is this decision, will it disrupt platforms for rides and reform daily commuting for user? Mint takes a deep dive: What did the Supreme Court rule? The Karnataka High Court has instructed that shared mobility saggregators, including Rapido, Uber and Ola, stopped the operations of bicycle taxis in the state within six weeks due to the absence of specific state regulation around the service. The court gave the state government three months to get bicycle taxis rules and said the transport department could not register motorcycles as transport vehicles or permits for these services until the guidelines were drawn up in terms of the Motor Vehicles Act. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said he would review the order and develop guidelines. Read also | Mint Primer | Clear signal: How equity agreement for VI can play, what is the history of this controversy? The issue has been underway over the past few years due to ambiguity over the legality of the service. Bike taxis emerged as a cheap transport in 2016-2019, with Rapido, the largest player in the segment, which was launched in Bengaluru in Bengaluru in 2015. The Karnataka Transport Division has repeatedly declared illegal, citing the lack of a commercial permit category for two-wheelers. In 2021, Karnataka imposed restrictions, which submitted the platforms to contest the decision in court. The Supreme Court then issued an interim order preventing the state from acting against these services. Read also | Mint Primer: Does AIF investors need more easier accreditation? What are the businesses affected? There are more than 100,000 two -wheelers working as taxis in Bengaluru. According to the market estimates, Rapido leads with a market share of 60%. The Bengaluru company said it facilitates more than 5 million bicycle rides in Karnataka each month, which work more than 150,000 people. Ola and Uber, which are small players, will also have an impact or disruption in the operations. Read also | Will the summer of ’25 break last year’s records? How does it affect the ordinary person? A large number of commuters opt for bicycle -taxis in karnataka, especially in Bengaluru, for daily commuting. The move is further commuters in the city, which is already struggling with higher travel costs after the Bengaluru metro tariffs rose 50%, from £ 60 to £ 90. Liter in diesel prices, which drove the selling price up to £ 91.02 per liter in the state. Did other countries ban bike taxis? Many states do not have regulations for bicycle -taxis that lead them to work in a gray area. The Madras High Court banned Rapido in July 2019, but it was lifted the same year, which enabled the company to resume services until the state drafted new regulations. Rapido’s bike staxi services were banned in Delhi in 2020 in Assam and in 2023. However, this week Maharashtra allowed e-bike taxis to work in the state, but the businesses will have a minimum of 50 bikes and ride a maximum of 15 km. Catch all the industry news, bank news and updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Primer #News Mint Specials