Autorickshaw drivers in Bengaluru are on strike on Monday in protest against private bike taxi aggregators functioning in the city. According to Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers Union president M Manjunath, over two lakh autorickshaws will remain off roads starting from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight. The union has one of the largest membership of autorickshaw drivers in Karnataka’s state capital.
The autorickshaw drivers will also take out a march from Bengaluru City Railway Station to the Chief Minister’s House. “We will observe a 24-hour strike starting from Sunday midnight. Our agitation is against the illegal operation of bike taxis operating in the city,” Manjunath told PTI.
What Autorickshaw Drivers Say
Manjunath claimed the state transport department viewed bike taxis as illegal but yet the drivers are operating on the city roads with impunity. Manjunath also said 21 autorickshaw drivers associations have come together against the bike taxis.
Recently, a video had gone viral of an autorickshaw driver smashing a bike taxi driver’s mobile phone at a major intersection in the city over the alleged illegal use of such services. Autorickshaw drivers and bike taxis have been competing for space on Bengaluru’s roads to gain customers.
Bike Taxis in Bengaluru
Under the Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, the state transportation agency authorised private company Bounce to operate 100 e-bike taxis in the city to boost first and last-mile connectivity. The department has set a 5km fare of Rs 25 and a 10km fare of Rs 50.
“People are using their personal white-board bikes and scooters as taxis by linking their vehicles with companies like Rapido. This is illegal and has eaten into the income of nearly two lakh auto drivers, whose earnings had already suffered after Covid,” Manjunath told the New Indian Express.
He noted that, in response to the challenges faced by auto drivers, Maharashtra and Delhi have prohibited bike taxis. According to Manjunath, Autos have to get permits, observe various restrictions and assure the safe transportation of their passengers. But, there are no guidelines for white-board taxis, and there have been numerous cases in which passengers’ safety has been jeopardised, he said.
Why Did Delhi Ban Bike Taxis?
The Delhi Transport Department recently issued a public notice to ride-hailing firms Ola, Uber, and Rapido, ordering them to suspend their bike taxi services in the capital effective immediately.
The ruling came weeks after the Supreme Court denied relief to Rapido, which had challenged the Bombay High Court’s order ordering the company to cease operations in Maharashtra immediately because it lacked a licence to provide bike, taxi, or rickshaw services.
The Delhi government stated that operating bike taxis – in which private bikes are used for rental by clients – in Delhi without an appropriate business permit will be a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as per a Quint report. The 2019 Amendment to the act reaffirmed that aggregators cannot operate without a legal licence, it said.
As per a The Hindu report, the department noticed that digital platforms are aiding taxi service operations via an app, thereby taking on the role of an aggregator, which is a violation of Section 93 of the Act, putting them liable to penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Bike taxis became popular during and after the pandemic because public transportation services such as Metro and buses had limited seating space, as per the Indian Express. Aggregators such as Uber, Ola, Rapido, and others provide services.
An official, when asked if there are any provisions to seek a licence to register two-wheelers to operate as bike taxis, told the Indian Express that there are no such provisions.
“As per the current rule, taxi services are where there is a driver and more than one passenger. Under this, only four-wheeler cabs, auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws are allowed but not bikes. There are certain rules and obligations to operate cab services — the vehicle should have a registration mark; yellow number plates; PSV badge which is issued after police verification; and drivers are supposed to undergo behavioural sessions. Moreover, women’s safety is of utmost importance in such services where mandatory panic button provisions are there, but none of these things are there in bikes,” the Indian Express quoted him as saying.
With inputs from PTI
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