BENGALURU: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who held a second round of meetings with private bus, auto and cab unions on Monday, led by the Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Associations, said a decision on their major demands of including private buses under the Shakti scheme and providing tax relaxations will have to be taken by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Members of the Federation said the minister had directed transport department officials to address the problems of private travel operators, that include banning bike taxis and regulating private cab aggregators.
Nataraj Sharma of the Federation told TNIE after the meeting, “At the first meeting on July 24, the minister listened to our problems and we submitted our demands. At the second meeting, he directed transport officials to address our demands and take measures to vacate the stay by the High Court, that is restraining the department from acting against bike-hailing service provider Rapido.”
“The minister said our major demands of including private buses under the Shakti scheme, where the government reimburses the ticket cost of women passengers and provides road tax relaxation, are yet to be addressed. Reddy has promised to fix a meeting with the chief minister on these demands before August 10,” Sharma said.