The on-again, off-again status of bike taxis in Karnataka, and elsewhere in the country, exemplifies the outmoded nature of transport regulation governing highly congested metropolitan cities. Bike taxis in Bengaluru, globally the third most congested city, are again caught in the throes of uncertainty after the Karnataka High Court clarified that it had not passed any orders on a plea filed by transport aggregator companies to allow two-wheeler taxis, and the government could take any action without harassing individual bike owners. The services had resumed just two days earlier.

By citing congestion as a ground to prohibit bike taxis, the Karnataka government has upended transport logic and done itself a disservice. In the unplanned, narrow and often decrepit........

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