Representative image showing a passenger riding a bike taxi.
Credit: iStock Photo
The return of bike taxi services in Bengaluru has given rise to mixed reactions.
While drivers remain overjoyed, auto driver and private transport associations have called the revival of the service an "illegal act".
Drivers that DH spoke to were under the impression that the High Court of Karnataka had ruled in favour of bike taxi services.
"As soon as I logged in, I started getting back-to-back ride requests. Customers, too, were happy that bike taxis were back on the road. Hopefully, this time around, bike taxis are back for good," said a 26-year-old driver, who was working at a mechanics workshop in the interim.
The Bike Taxi Welfare Association, with 12,000 members, welcomed the court's oral observations questioning the blanket ban.
Customers also lauded the resumption.
"Several citizens are dependent on bike taxis, not just for livelihood but also as a mode of transport. To travel within the city, bike taxis remain one of the most efficient and cost-friendly modes of transport. For a college student on a limited budget, this has been my saviour on multiple occasions," said Neha Jain, a postgraduate student.
While bike taxi services were suspended on June 16, many drivers had shifted to food delivery apps.
"At Rapido, we were told that they'd hire us bike taxi drivers as food delivery agents for their new app. But two months in, and we had yet to hear any news about that. I had applied for a job at multiple places, but didn't receive a positive response," shared another driver. The 29-year-old was stuck doing odd jobs for the past two months.
In contrast to the joyous welcome, the Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Association wrote to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, calling for immediate action to be taken against bike taxi aggregators for "willful disobedience of court orders".
It said Rapido had "mischaracterised" an oral observation to "not take precipitative action" and asked the department to file a civil contempt petition.
"There has been no interim stay, so on what basis have these platforms brought back bike taxi services? They have misused the court's oral advice and are taking advantage of it. This is a contempt of court. We hope the Transport Department takes strict action and treats it as such. If the transport department does not do this, we will take legal action against the aggregator platforms," said Nataraj Sharma, federation president.
The Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union has also taken a similar stand and written a letter to the transport minister. Auto drivers across the city plan to protest if bike taxis make a permanent return.