Following relentless protests by the autorickshaw unions in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government has revoked the Electric Bike Taxi Scheme which was initially launched in July 2021 by the previous BJP government. Karnataka was the first state to implement an electric bike taxi policy. However, the autorickshaw unions had strongly opposed the scheme fearing that they would be put out of business.
In response to concerns raised, the Karnataka’s Congress government issued a notification on March 6, 2024, withdrawing the scheme. While revoking the scheme, the government said that bike taxis are “unsafe for women.”
Apart from that, the notification mentioned various issues, including the misuse of non-transport two-wheelers (white board vehicles) by private app-based organisations, which violated the Motor Vehicle Act. Instances of heated disputes between auto and taxi drivers that led to law and order disturbances were also cited.
ET quoted Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy saying that numerous individuals were operating petrol-run bike taxis, which undermined the purpose of the scheme.
The implementation of the scheme reportedly affected tax collection and enforcement within the transport department. A committee, chaired by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) managing director, assessed the scheme's outcomes and concluded that it failed to meet its objectives effectively.