Karnataka Bike Taxi Ban: Can A Passenger Be A Parcel? Bengalureans Answer

The ban on bike taxi services has set in chaos among daily commuters in Bengaluru as they now find hacks around the suspension. Commuters are using the "Bike Parcel" courier service facility to ride to their destinations.

Since Monday morning, all ride hailing platforms, Rapido, Ola and Uber have paused bike taxi services. Rapido on its app notified, "Starting June 16, 2025, our Bike Taxi Services in Karnataka will be paused in compliance with recent High Court orders. While we deeply believe in the value bike taxis bring to daily commuters, we respect law and will fully abide by the directive."

Commuters even took to social media platforms to show the hack, as they scrambled to find rides in the morning hours on Monday. The parcel option on the ride hailing apps continues to be open, even as the moto rides have been suspended.

The ban has been of great disadvantage to commuters in the city, as bike taxis are an affordable option to travel in and around the city and also convenient for last-mile rides. Bengalureans have taken to social media platforms to express their disappointment, as they complain of having to spend significantly more on transport.

This also adds up to the woes as the city has limited metro connectivity and auto drivers in the city are infamous for charging high prices for rides.

"I usually spend about Rs 100–120 to reach my office," Rakesh H, an IT employee in Bengaluru, said. "Now, if i have to take an auto everyday, I'll end up spending Rs 180–190, this essentially eats up into my savings now."

"It's a pain to opt for public transport like a bus or metro because there is no connectivity near my home, I have to walk again for 10–15 minutes to get there," he said.

While most stakeholders continue to remain upset, auto drivers in the city have welcomed the move as it stands to benefit them. The auto drivers have had a long-standing problem with bike taxis as they eat into their business and have earlier appealed the government to suspend their operations on the grounds that most two wheelers are not registered for commercial use.

Bike taxi services have been suspended across Karnataka following a high court order that came into effect on Monday. The ban has caused disruption in Bengaluru, with commuters expressing disappointment on losing out on a cheap commute mode, and bike taxi drivers voicing distress over losing a crucial source of income.

Last Friday, Karnataka High Court refused to stay a single-judge bench’s order suspending bike taxi services, putting the ban in effect. The ban will be in effect at least until June 24, as the matter has been adjourned.

This is a major setback for the ride hailing platforms, Rapido for instance, forms a significant chunk of revenue from bike taxi service and captures around 60% of the bike taxi market. Uber and Ola combined capture the rest of the market.

"This is a challenging moment for our captains — many of whom rely on bike taxis as their primary source of income," Rapido said in an official statement following the ban. "They have been instrumental in delivering affordable, last-mile mobility to millions of commuters across Karnataka."

"We remain committed to working collaboratively with the Transport Department and the Government of Karnataka to help shape a regulatory framework that is compliant, sustainable, and future-ready. Our priority is to protect the interests of gig workers while ensuring commuter safety remains paramount," the company added.

The ban comes as a set back to the bike taxi drivers in the city. The Bike Taxi Association in Bengaluru have voiced their concern that over 1 lakh gig workers in the city rely on the earnings made from driving bike taxis and is a major source of income to run their households.

"I used to make about Rs 40,000 per month and this was a major source of income to run my family," Tahir Hussain, a bike taxi driver in Bengaluru said. "Now if this is suspended, I'll have to scramble for money and start finding other ways to make the money, which is again a difficult task."

"At least for the next few months, managing expenses will be difficult for me and my family," Hussain said.

Three other taxi drivers NDTV Profit spoke to also voiced the same concerns as Hussain. Many migrant workers from Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, now settled in Bengaluru, rely on ride-hailing gigs to make their bank every month. In addition, some workers in the formalised sector too rely on these gigs to make extra income, as expenses mount in the city.

The rationale behind the bike taxi ban stems from the widespread use of personal vehicles for commercial purposes via ride-hailing apps, allowing unregistered individuals to earn without regulation. Safety concerns have also been raised, with past incidents of harassment involving bike taxi riders. The core argument is the absence of a clear regulatory framework for bike taxis — yet the state has made no move so far to establish such guidelines.