Bike taxis 'affordable, convenient and safe,' woman commuter tells Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: A woman commuter, appearing as an intervener, told the Karnataka High Court that the bike taxis are the most affordable, convenient, and also the safest mode of transportation.

Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari, representing the woman commuter Vishali Sri Lakshmi, an advocate, submitted that a KPMG study demonstrated that bike taxis are particularly beneficial for women, offering both safety and cost-effectiveness.

The submission was made before a comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi in a batch of writ appeals relating to bike taxis. The appeals challenge the single bench order that unless the state government notifies relevant guidelines under section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules, bike taxi services cannot operate adding that measures are always open to the state government to frame such guidelines.

Referring to the 2019 expert committee report concerning women's safety, Jayna Kothari said that the report relied by the state government to ban bike taxi services had never heard women in the matter. She pointed out that the states that implemented the bike taxis have ensured safety measures, including pre-qualification tests and background checks for riders. She said that in states like West Bengal, night operations are regulated, while several states have also provided the option to choose women riders.

Traffic congestion increased due to ban

Senior advocate Uday Holla, representing Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, said that ban on bike taxi registration has resulted in an 18 percent increase in traffic congestion.

Referring to the 2019 committee report, he said that it was by a one man committee headed by the chairman of the BMRCL while Bengaluru’s Metro has limited coverage with only two lines. He said that even additional lines would struggle to serve the expanding city and the duration of journey has multiplied during the peak periods.

The division bench has adjourned the hearing on the batch of writ appeals to Thursday.