Stuck in legal grey zone, can India's bike taxis navigate past roadblocks?

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3 days ago

Bike taxis have halted services in Karnataka.
The Karnataka High Court on April 2 ruled that bike taxis could not operate without guidelines framed by the state government under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The court gave bike taxis till June 15 to wrap up operations.
The abrupt halt could affect an estimated 75,000 to one lakh bike taxis operating in Bengaluru where services began in 2016.
Stopping short of an outright ban, the court effectively passed the buck to the Karnataka government. But, so far, the government is not considering any regulatory framework to allow bike taxis, seemingly due to opposition from autorickshaw unions.
On the other hand, Maharashtra might become the latest state to allow bike taxi operations.
On May 30, Maharashtra notified draft regulations for electronic bike taxis. After public feedback, the rules are expected to be finalised by July.
Bike taxis are a cheap way to commute, especially short distances in India's traffic-choked cities with inadequate public transport. Days after bike taxis stopped operations in Bangalore, traffic congestion increased by at least 20%, showed data put out by the TomTom Index that measures mobility.
Yet, as the contrasting positions of Karnataka and Maharashtra show, the regulatory environment has been slow to catch up.
Mobility experts and ride aggregators told Scroll that bike taxis complement, rather than cannibalise, public transport. Their role as feeder services and last-mile connectivity should be supported through government policies that factor in safety concerns, driver welfare and passenger needs.
Quick transport
The surge in bike taxi use is a result of their effective response to the realities of mobility in India's urban centres and the gig economy.
Researcher Pravesh Biyani said that initially, it was difficult to ride pillion on bike taxis. 'But then, purely because it was so cheap, I took so many of them, especially for shorter distances,' said Biyani, who is a professor at the Delhi-based Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology's Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Mobility.
Biyani, who founded the digital transit app Chartr, said bike taxis are much faster than other modes of transport. 'In an auto, you will get stuck in traffic but the bike driver will squiggle through,' he said.
Commuters are increasingly relying on bike taxis. 'The public transportation system in most cities is broken,' said Girish Agrawal, a professor at the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Center, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. 'Even keeping and maintaining a private vehicle is not just expensive, it's painful.'
Aggregators confirm the trend. 'Bike taxis have emerged as the 'choice of transport' as metros become more and more congested,' said Pratip Mazumder, India country manager at inDrive, a ride-hailing app. An Uber spokesperson told Scroll that autorickshaw and motorbike rides on the platform together exceed the volume of four-wheeler trips, though he did not specify for how long that has been the case.
Where bike taxis win, hands down, is providing last-mile connectivity.
Raghavan Viswanathan, Partner at KPMG India and co-author of the accounting firm's 2023 report ' Unlocking the Potential of Bike Taxis in India ', said, 'Most bike taxi trips start or end at public transport hubs – like metro, bus or train stations – helping bridge first- and last-mile gaps.'
This addresses a key deficiency that several studies have found: that poor feeder networks limit the use of expensive metro systems and public transport.
Simultaneously, bike taxis fuel the gig economy. Agrawal said that fresh graduates, who are often unable to get formal jobs and have few financial resources, find bike-taxi driving an accessible and flexible way to make a temporary living.
KPMG estimates the sector could generate 5.4 million livelihoods by 2030, while Uber's latest impact report calculated that its autorickshaw and bike taxi services supported Rs 360 billion in economic activity in 2024 in India.
Regulatory quagmire
Despite their popularity, bike taxis operate under a cloud of legal uncertainty. This is primarily due to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which was not designed for app-based aggregators or two-wheeler commercial transport.
A 2004 notification by the Centre permitted the registration of some motorcycles as 'transport vehicles' for hire, with one pillion rider, but it did not provide a regulatory structure.
Since road transport is a concurrent subject in the Constitution, which means it is subject to regulation by states and the Centre, there are no uniform regulations for bike taxis across India. 'Even though the Motor Vehicles Act says that the states can authorise bike taxis, very few states have done that,' Agrawal pointed out.
This remains one of the main regulatory issues faced by bike taxis: the use of private or personal vehicles, which have white coloured number plates, for commercial purposes – a violation of state laws.
Currently, a lot of states don't even give out commercial licenses to motorcycles. Autorickshaws and taxis use yellow numberplates.
But mandating conversion to commercial yellow plates may be discouraging for bike taxis given the dual use of these vehicles as well as the arduous expense and effort involved.
KPMG's surveys found that over 70% of bike taxi drivers ferry passengers for less than a year and more than 75% do not plan to continue beyond two years. 'Drivers use motorcycles already owned by them or their families,' said Raghavan. 'EVs or yellow plates limit their personal usage and flexibility.'
Agrawal questioned the logic of commercial licences for bike taxis. It would force a permanent commercial status on a vehicle used temporarily for gig work and primarily for personal transport, he pointed out.
The Union government has attempted to provide clarity and legitimacy to bike taxi operations. In January 2024, the ministry clarified that motorcycles can be granted commercial permits by states. Before that, the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019, laid down definitions for ride-hailing 'aggregators' and mandated state licences. In 2020, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued advisory aggregator guidelines covering licensing, safety and fares.
But this has not translated into state-level action.
Some, like Goa, Haryana, West Bengal and Rajasthan, have allowed bike taxis under existing transport rules or by framing new policies. But most states have not yet done so, resulting in the current inconsistent landscape of some states allowing bike taxi operations (with or without specific rules), some banning them, some favouring only electric bikes and others stuck in deliberation.
Why are so many states reluctant to allow bike taxis?
'Resistance from the incumbent transport service providers who lose business to bike-taxis is among the chief reasons,' said Ravi Gadepalli, founder of Transit Intelligence, a public transport consulting firm.
Autorickshaw and cab unions argue that bike taxis have an unfair advantage by not having to pay permit fees and commercial registration costs that they otherwise incur.
But operating in a regulatory grey zone puts riders in precarious situations. After Delhi banned bike taxis in 2022, riders worked covertly – avoiding police, hiding navigation apps and telling passengers to feign personal relationships if stopped, as The Leaflet reported.
Pragmatic regulation
The resilience of bike taxi services clearly indicates a market need that bans cannot erase. The way forward lies in developing sensible, enabling regulations, said experts.
'We, as stakeholders, need to collectively accept that bike taxis are here to stay,' said Mazumdar. This acceptance must translate into a regulatory framework tailored for the gig economy.
Instead of permanent yellow plates, flexible, rule-based identification is an option. 'The drivers wearing jackets lined with reflective colours' as a means to identify a bike taxi will have much higher acceptance,' said Raghavan, based on the findings of the KPMG report.
Agrawal supported less intrusive methods. West Bengal's exploration of short-term, discreet authorisation – like QR codes could provide a template, he said. A reasonable, time-based annual permit fee – something drivers surveyed by KPMG expressed willingness to pay – could replace yellow plate conversion.
Similarly, transitioning to electric two-wheelers is good for the environment but it must be phased pragmatically. 'An EV-only policy, at present, will create a huge entry barrier for drivers,' said Agrawal, given the cost and infrastructure limitations.
There are also safety concerns. As Gadepalli noted, two-wheelers dominate India's road accident statistics.
Agrawal pointed to the disconnect between low individual risk perception – 'nobody thinks they'll ever get caught or get in an accident', he said – and high societal risk.
Ride aggregators implement checks such as helmet verification – Uber uses 'helmet selfies' – and have in-app safety features.
Making platforms liable could lead to better enforcement of safety protocols such as high-quality helmets, mandatory training and background checks, said Biyani. These services should use technology to monitor speed and implement SOS features, Agrawal added.
But ultimately, state governments must step up. 'The Karnataka High Court's decision is a call for proactive policy-making, not indefinite suspension,' said Biyani.