Uber says bike taxis don’t hit auto demand

Uber said data from a nearly two-month suspension of bike taxi services in Bengaluru and Mumbai in mid-2025 suggests bike taxis did not cut auto-rickshaw demand, as both categories kept rising while Indian states review rules.

In Q4 2025, 76% of two- and three-wheeler users in Bengaluru chose only autos, and 8.8% only bikes, while Mumbai showed nearly 84% using only autos and 9.3% using both, the company said.

Among riders who used both, autos made up 62% of trips in Bengaluru and 65% in Mumbai. Uber also said more than 500,000 Bengaluru users took their first trip on a bike taxi since 2024.

The data comes as the Karnataka High Court in January 2026 lifted a June 2025 ban on bike taxis, while Maharashtra revoked provisional licenses for Ola, Uber, and Rapido in Mumbai in March.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The legal battle focused on how motorcycles are classified under transport law

The dispute in Karnataka turned on whether motorcycles count as “transport vehicles” under India’s central Motor Vehicles Act, the country’s main road transport law 1.
The High Court agreed they can, and told officials to register them and issue contract carriage permits under the Motor Vehicles Act 2.
The order weakened the state government’s earlier reasons for limiting bike taxis, including pressure from auto-rickshaw unions, safety concerns, and misuse of private white-board vehicles, meaning privately registered vehicles not licensed for commercial passenger service 2.
The court said transport authorities may set conditions on registrations and permits, yet cannot reject an application only because it uses a motorcycle 1.

The ruling gives legal clarity to bike-taxi platforms and their riders

The verdict gives clearer legal footing for ride-hailing platforms that include Uber, Ola, and Rapido 2.
Rapido, an Indian ride-hailing startup focused on two-wheeler and taxi services, reached a US$1.1 billion valuation in September 2024 after a US$200 million series E round, according to the cited report 3.
The Karnataka outcome may shape other states as they weigh alignment with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ Aggregator Guidelines issued in 2025, which set rules for app-based transport services 3.
In 2025 hearings, the state told the court Karnataka has around 600,000 bike taxis 4. With operations allowed, riders may fall under the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, a state law aimed at providing social security and welfare protections for app-based workers, depending on applicability 3.