Uber Argues A State Government Has No Role To Permit Bike Taxis

Uber India, represented by Senior Advocate V Srinivas Ramanujan, pointed out to the Karnataka High Court that the Karnataka Government cannot disallow two-wheelers from registering as bike taxis. The ride-hailing app was appealing against a previous judgment that banned the aggregation of bike taxis in the state. Uber India was arguing in the court along with Ola and Rapido. 

The advocate noted that it is the Regional Transport Authority’s role instead to grant contract carriage permits. He even pointed out that the State Government lacks the authority under the Motor Vehicles Act to impose a ban on two-wheeler aggregation. In fact, Section 93 of MVA states that the State can require an aggregator to take a license, whilst pertaining to certain guidelines that will be ascertained by the state itself. To which, Ramanujan recalled that such guidelines already existed in the first place, referring to the Karnataka On-Demand Transport Technology Aggregator Rules, formed in 2016.

(Also Read: After Karnataka, Hyderabad May Ban Bike Taxis Too)

He further cited how aggregators did not have to register vehicles separately based on types, like a two-wheeler, if it already has a license granted by the state. However, if the Government asks for a list of all the bike taxis plying within its jurisdiction, one shall comply. 

On the flip side, it was also reported earlier that bike taxis were still plying in Karnataka by referring to private rides as “Parcels”. While the loophole did create a brief period of respite, police crackdowns were intensified subsequently. Ramanujan cited how this blanket ban on bike taxis is now creating more pressure on existing traffic, and how the repeal of the ban can help ease that.