Auto drivers in Bengaluru have called for a 24-hour strike starting from the midnight of Sunday, March 19, to protest against the illegal operations of private bike taxi aggregators in the city. As many as 20 auto unions are participating in the strike. According to reports, more than two lakh autos will not be plying customers till Monday midnight.
The primary demand of the auto drivers is to impose a ban on bike taxis in Bengaluru. The protestors will be staging a protest march from KSR Bengaluru City railway station to the Chief Minister's official residence. The auto drivers had told MoneyControl that they are not getting rides because of the large number of bike taxis in the city, which is hugely impacting their income. Some unions had also threatened that they will not vote in the upcoming election if bike taxis are not banned.
Meanwhile, last December, the transport department had issued a license to Wicked Ride, which runs Bounce, to operate bike taxis in the city. However, the operations have not commenced yet. MoneyControl also reported the transport commissioner SN Siddaramappa stating that an instant decision is not likely in this regard, as a court case is pending. He was referring to the interim relief granted by the Karnataka High Court to bike taxi aggregator Rapido, in 2021, directing the government not to take any coercive action against them. But transport minister B Sriramulu had reportedly said that a decision will be taken before the election.
In February, an auto rickshaw driver was booked by the Bengaluru traffic police for smashing the helmet of a bike taxi driver and verbally abusing him. A video of the attack went viral, and showed the auto driver smashing the Rapido bike taxi driver’s helmet against the road and verbally abusing him, falsely claiming that he was an illegal migrant.