UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Bike taxis are not public transport vehicles, Karnataka tells Supreme Court
Q1. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the expression 'transport vehicle' is defined to mean which one of the following?
- A. A public service vehicle, a goods carriage, an educational institution bus or a private service vehicle
- B. Any motor vehicle used or adapted to be used for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward, including a maxicab and a motorcab
- C. Any motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than six but not more than twelve passengers, excluding the driver, for hire or reward
- D. Any motor vehicle carrying a passenger under a contract for a fixed sum for the whole journey, on a route not specified in advance
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding vehicle categories under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988:
1. A 'maxicab' is a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than six but not more than twelve passengers, excluding the driver, for hire or reward.
2. A 'public service vehicle' includes a maxicab, a motorcab, a contract carriage and a stage carriage.
3. A 'private service vehicle' stands excluded from the statutory definition of 'transport vehicle'.
4. A 'goods carriage' stands excluded from the definition of 'transport vehicle', which covers only passenger-carrying vehicles.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- A 'maxicab' is a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than six but not more than twelve passengers, excluding the driver, for hire or reward.
- A 'public service vehicle' includes a maxicab, a motorcab, a contract carriage and a stage carriage.
- A 'private service vehicle' stands excluded from the statutory definition of 'transport vehicle'.
- A 'goods carriage' stands excluded from the definition of 'transport vehicle', which covers only passenger-carrying vehicles.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q3. Consider the following statements comparing the Single Judge order and the Division Bench judgment of the Karnataka High Court in the bike taxi litigation:
1. The Single Judge halted bike taxi operations by aggregators pending the framing of a policy by the State under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, whereas the Division Bench set that order aside.
2. Departing from the Single Judge, the Division Bench directed the State to consider applications for registering motorcycles as transport vehicles and for issuing contract carriage permits.
3. Unlike the Single Judge, the Division Bench held that aggregators alone, and not individual motorcycle owners, had a crystallised right to obtain such permits.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Single Judge halted bike taxi operations by aggregators pending the framing of a policy by the State under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, whereas the Division Bench set that order aside.
- Departing from the Single Judge, the Division Bench directed the State to consider applications for registering motorcycles as transport vehicles and for issuing contract carriage permits.
- Unlike the Single Judge, the Division Bench held that aggregators alone, and not individual motorcycle owners, had a crystallised right to obtain such permits.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. In the bike taxi dispute, the State's regulatory power over the grant of a contract carriage permit is traced to which one of the following provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988?
- A. Section 66, which deals with the necessity of a permit for the use of a vehicle as a transport vehicle
- B. Section 74, which deals with the grant of contract carriage permits and the conditions attachable to them
- C. Section 93, which deals with the obtaining of a licence by an agent, canvasser or aggregator
- D. Section 88, which deals with the validation of permits for use outside the region in which granted
Q5. With reference to the distribution of legislative powers over motor vehicles under the Constitution of India, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. Motor vehicle legislation is a Concurrent List subject, and in the event of repugnancy the central law prevails over the state law
- B. Motor vehicle legislation is exclusively a Union List subject, and States have no competence to legislate on any aspect of motor vehicles
- C. Motor vehicle legislation is entirely a State List subject, and Parliament may legislate upon it only during the operation of a Proclamation of Emergency
- D. Motor vehicle legislation is a Concurrent List subject, and taxes on vehicles too are concurrent, so States alone may not levy them
Q6. Consider the following statements about the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 as compared with the earlier aggregator framework:
1. The 2025 Guidelines operate of their own force upon States, dispensing with the requirement of a State-issued licence for an aggregator to commence operations.
2. The 2025 Guidelines raise the permissible peak-hour fare from 1.5 times to 2 times the base fare, while requiring off-peak fares to be at least 50 per cent of the base fare.
3. The 2025 Guidelines, for the first time, enable a State Government to allow the aggregation of non-transport motorcycles for carrying passengers as shared mobility.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The 2025 Guidelines operate of their own force upon States, dispensing with the requirement of a State-issued licence for an aggregator to commence operations.
- The 2025 Guidelines raise the permissible peak-hour fare from 1.5 times to 2 times the base fare, while requiring off-peak fares to be at least 50 per cent of the base fare.
- The 2025 Guidelines, for the first time, enable a State Government to allow the aggregation of non-transport motorcycles for carrying passengers as shared mobility.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. Consider the following statements about the Code on Social Security, 2020 as it applies to gig and platform workers:
1. A gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside a traditional employer-employee relationship.
2. An aggregator is a digital intermediary or a market place for a buyer or user of a service to connect with the seller or the service provider.
3. An aggregator's contribution may be notified at a rate between 1 and 2 per cent of its annual turnover, subject to a ceiling of 5 per cent of the amount paid or payable to gig and platform workers.
4. The benefits notifiable for gig and platform workers under the Code are confined to accident insurance, and exclude maternity benefit and old age protection.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- A gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside a traditional employer-employee relationship.
- An aggregator is a digital intermediary or a market place for a buyer or user of a service to connect with the seller or the service provider.
- An aggregator's contribution may be notified at a rate between 1 and 2 per cent of its annual turnover, subject to a ceiling of 5 per cent of the amount paid or payable to gig and platform workers.
- The benefits notifiable for gig and platform workers under the Code are confined to accident insurance, and exclude maternity benefit and old age protection.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q8. As of November 2025, how many platform aggregators had been onboarded on the platform aggregator module of the e-Shram portal?
Q9. The Karnataka High Court Division Bench that decided the bike taxi appeals in January 2026 was headed by which one of the following?
- A. Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru
- B. Justice C.M. Joshi
- C. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
- D. Justice N.V. Anjaria
Q10. In the Karnataka High Court Division Bench judgment on bike taxis, the expression 'crystallised right' was used to convey which one of the following?
- A. That applications by aggregators and motorcycle owners for registration and permits must be considered under the law as it stands
- B. That every motorcycle owner has acquired an absolute and unconditional entitlement to ply a bike taxi, immune from any permit condition
- C. That the State stands permanently barred from ever framing a regulatory policy governing bike taxi aggregators in future
- D. That the entitlement to operate bike taxis flows exclusively from state gig worker welfare legislation and not from the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
Q11. Under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, within what period were State Governments expected to implement the revised guidelines?
- A. One month
- B. Three months
- C. Nine months
- D. Eighteen months
Q12. Consider the following statements based on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report 'Road Accidents in India — 2023':
1. Two-wheeler users accounted for about 44.8 per cent of all road accident fatalities, the largest share among vehicle categories.
2. Over-speeding was the single largest violation-related cause, accounting for about 68 per cent of road accident deaths.
3. National highways accounted for about 57 per cent of fatal road accidents, exceeding the share of state highways and other roads taken together.
4. Persons in the 18-45 age group accounted for about 45 per cent of road accident victims.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Two-wheeler users accounted for about 44.8 per cent of all road accident fatalities, the largest share among vehicle categories.
- Over-speeding was the single largest violation-related cause, accounting for about 68 per cent of road accident deaths.
- National highways accounted for about 57 per cent of fatal road accidents, exceeding the share of state highways and other roads taken together.
- Persons in the 18-45 age group accounted for about 45 per cent of road accident victims.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 4 only
- D. 3 and 4 only