Bike-taxi drivers in Karnataka have urged B Ramalinga Reddy, Minister for transport to protect their livelihoods. The development comes days after the Minister directed the transport department to enforce the ban on bike-taxis by mid-May in line with the orders of the Karnataka High Court.
On Monday, April 28, over 100 bike taxi operators from the Namma Bike Taxi Association and ride hailing services such as Ola, Rapido and Uber, met Reddy to apprise him of their grievances.
The delegation told the Minister that in the absence of regulation pertaining to their work, they faced harassment and fines and called on the government to recognise bike taxis as a legal mode of transport, according to a release.
“We are not criminals — we are workers trying to earn a living with dignity,” said Ramesh K, a bike taxi driver and member of the association. “Every day we live in fear. If bike taxis are legal in Delhi and Maharashtra, why are we being denied the right to work here in Karnataka?”
The petition said that bike taxi drivers included students, single parents, and former salaried workers who had turned to bike taxis after losing jobs during the pandemic.
The Union government’s Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 recognises bike taxis but Karnataka is yet to frame state-level rules, leaving drivers in a legal grey zone.
On April 25, Reddy had directed the Transport Secretary and the Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety to ensure that Ola, Rapido and Uber cease providing bike taxi services.
The High Court had, on April 2, given ride aggregators six weeks to cease operating bike-taxis, and directed the state government to ensure that the companies comply.