Demanding action against autorickshaw drivers allegedly harassing bike taxi riders in the city, the Bike Taxi Association of Bengaluru staged a protest at Freedom Park on Monday. Protesters demanded that Karnataka government protect the interest of riders, while alleging that auto drivers were involved in not only verbal abuse, but also physical abuse such as snatching their mobile phones and helmets.
Continued skirmishes
In the city, taxi aggregators offering bike taxi services and auto drivers have been at loggerheads for several years. Auto drivers allege that without obtaining any license from the Transport Department, the aggregators are attaching white-boards to two-wheelers meant for personal use. They also accused bike riders of eating into their revenue. In the city, more than 2.1 lakh autos are plying on the roads and more than about 70,000 two-wheeler owners rely on bike taxi services.
Recently, auto drivers affiliated to Bangalore Auto Drivers Unions’ Federation observed a 24-hour strike demanding that the State government impose a ban on bike taxi services and withdraw a policy on e-bike taxis introduced last year.
The Transport Department’s S.N. Siddaramappa has been maintaining that as the issue is pending before the Karnataka High Court they cannot take any coercive action against the aggregators as per the court’s order. The efforts of the department earlier to crack down on “illegal” bike taxi operations hit a legal hurdle.
Two points of view
Bike taxi riders say that they are being targeted and their livelihoods are being destroyed. The president of Bike Taxi Association Adi Narayana M. said, “We are staging a protest for the second time at Freedom Park as bike taxi riders continue to face the wrath of auto drivers. For livelihood, we are dependent on running bike taxis. We too have families. We want the police to take strict action against them and the State government to bring out a policy to protect our interests.” He alleged that recently, a union leader of auto drivers had threatened to set a biker’s two-wheeler on fire after humiliating him for attaching the bike with an aggregator. The incident happened near Majestic in the heart of the city and a video of the alleged incident had gone viral. The police say a legal opinion has been sought on the alleged incident on how to pursue the case.
The president of the Auto Drivers Union (CITU) C.N. Sreenivas said, “In the city, for over six decades, auto drivers have been providing transport services. Illegal operation of bike taxies pose threat to safety of pillion riders and also are snatching the livelihood of the more than 2 lakh auto drivers in the city. The number of people attaching their private bikes for commercial purposes is increasing every day. In the past, the Transport Department had impounded the vehicles but it is not taking any action now. We have been fighting against injustice for more than three years.”
He pointed out that other State governments, such as Maharashtra and Delhi, have banned bike taxi services.
