Bike taxis continue to ply in Bengaluru, transport dept mulls legal action

Bengaluru: As bike taxis continue to zip through the roads of Bengaluru, the Transport Department is considering legal action against ride-hailing platforms. 

On Friday, the High Court of Karnataka clarified that it had not given any orders permitting bike taxis, and that the state government was free to take action if the aggregator platforms had already started operations. However, the court asked the department “not to harass” individual bike taxi drivers/owners. 

Currently, bike taxi services remain operational on Uber, Ola and Rapido. 

A highly placed source said the department was collecting data to take “appropriate legal action”. 

“The aggregators were quick to restart operations. They have done so by misguiding thousands of bike taxi drivers and giving them false hope. Their actions are a clear contempt of court. We will collect data over the next few days and take appropriate legal actions,” the source told DH. 

Citing the court order, Transport Department Secretary N V Prasad maintained that ride-hailing firms cannot operate bike taxis. 

“We expect the firms to abide by the court’s orders,” he stated. He denied that the department was harassing individual drivers/
owners. 

In the meantime, Uber continues to run promotional offers on Moto, its bike taxi service, while Rapido discontinued the discount after running it on August 21. 

The suspension of bike taxis between June 16 and August 20 seems to have had very little impact on the popularity of bike taxis among consumers. 

Many drivers told DH that they had been flooded with bookings since Thursday morning — with many booking an average of 15 rides in the last two days. 

Adi Narayan, president, Bike Taxi Welfare Association, urged app platforms to give drivers access to technology free of charge so that they can connect with customers and start earning a
gain. 

“Even as the high court has unequivocally directed the state not to take coercive action against bike taxi drivers, there is now a threat of action against the app platforms themselves. This puts not just the drivers, but our entire support structure, at serious risk,” he stated.