Auto unions plan Supreme Court move after High Court clears bike taxi services

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has given a major boost to bike taxi services in the state by setting aside the government’s ban, triggering sharp reactions from auto driver organisations, which have now announced plans to approach the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.

In a significant ruling, the High Court allowed motorcycles to be used as taxis, quashing the state government’s order that prohibited bike taxi operations. The court also overturned the earlier single-bench order, effectively giving bike taxi aggregators the green signal to resume and continue services across Karnataka.

With this verdict, bike taxi services, operated by platforms such as Ola and Uber, are set to officially continue in the state. The decision is being seen as a major relief for thousands of riders associated with these platforms, many of whom depend on bike taxis as a primary or supplementary source of income.

Commuters, especially in urban areas, have also welcomed the ruling, citing affordability and faster last-mile connectivity. However, the judgment has left auto driver unions disgruntled. Auto organizations have blamed the transport department for what they call negligence and lack of willpower in effectively defending the government’s stand in court.

Union leaders argue that the High Court order has come due to the failure of officials to present a strong case against bike taxi operations. In response, auto unions have decided to seek legal remedies by knocking on the doors of the Supreme Court.

They are consulting legal experts and exploring the possibility of filing an appeal against the High Court verdict. Auto drivers have also demanded that the state transport department itself should move the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling.

To press their demands, auto unions are reportedly planning protests and may lay siege to the transport department’s head office to draw the government’s attention to their concerns. They maintain that bike taxis will adversely impact their livelihoods and create unfair competition.

Earlier, a high-level committee constituted by the state government had submitted a report on November 26, 2025, stating that bike taxis were unsafe and illegal under existing transport laws. Based on this report, the government had taken steps to restrict bike taxi services, prompting aggregators to approach the judiciary.

The High Court, however, accepted the appeals filed by bike taxi companies and allowed the resumption of services, observing that a blanket ban was not justified. With the verdict now in place, the focus shifts to whether the matter will escalate to the Supreme Court and how the state government responds amid mounting pressure from auto unions.

For now, the High Court order has paved the way for bike taxi services to continue operating legally in Karnataka, even as the legal and political debate around their regulation intensifies.

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