Karnataka scraps e-bike taxi policy amid safety and misuse concerns

The Karnataka government has decided to withdraw the electric bike taxi scheme, citing gross misuse and safety concerns, particularly regarding women.

The state transport department said that non-transport bikes—i.e., e-bikes only meant for personal usage, not commercial—were used to ferry passengers, which was leading to clashes with auto and cab drivers.

A report from a committee led by Maheshwar Rao M, Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corp Ltd (BMRCL), added that the e-bike taxi scheme, launched by the Karnataka government in July 2021, had also failed to receive traction over the last three years.

Rapido, a bike taxi service provider, said the notification does not affect it in any way or pertain to its operations since it does not operate e-bikes.

"The notification issued by the state government does not pertain to Rapido's bike taxi operations within the State of Karnataka and Rapido will continue to operate and serve both its customers and captains in the State of Karnataka without any disruptions," a company statement read.

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Ola, in January, had announced its plan to offer electric two-wheeler rides on its ride-hailing platform to cater to those looking for cheaper rides.

The latest diktat from the Karnataka government is likely to throw a wrench in the company's plan to capture half a billion rides by e-bike taxis by 2024-end.

Ola did not comment on the development.

Uber, whose CEO Dara Khusrowshahi was touring India last month, has also been hoping to expand its e-bike taxi offering. In May last year, it teamed up with Zypp Electric to launch 10,000 EV two-wheelers.

The Karnataka Transport Department has been cracking down on app-based cab aggregators recently to standardise fares and make rides more affordable to the state's inhabitants.

In February, the department announced a new fare structure based on the category of the taxi.