RTA seizes bike taxis in B'luru, says they are 'illegal'

 Several bike taxis of Ola and Uber were seized on Friday for not carrying the required permit.

The Regional Transport Authority said the bikes were seized because they were being operated without permit.

A senior official said the bikes had to be converted into transport vehicles, while they were being run as non-transport vehicles. There is a separate licence and permit for transport vehicles which the riders and the company had not obtained from the Transport department.

The official said the rider was riding the vehicle without a badge and yellow board. The vehicle is a private one and could not be run as a taxi till it is converted into a yellow board transport vehicle.

In case of an accident, the rider and the passenger who hire the bike will not be able to claim insurance as the vehicle doesn’t have third-party insurance. “The bikes cannot ply as taxis as they have to procure the permit from the State transport authority. The bike taxis are illegal also because they don’t have the right licence. We will not allow them to operate.

They are riding like cab aggregators who do not work under the system and claim they are only a technology platform. They have to follow the rule of law and the regulations of the Transport department. Only then will they be permitted to operate as taxis,” the official told Deccan Herald.