BENGALURU: Officials of the Transport Department are gearing up to implement the ban on bike taxis by May 14.
In its order on April 2, the High Court of Karnataka gave six weeks to bike taxi aggregators to stop their operations. The court ordered the state government to ensure that the ban comes into force after six weeks. In a letter to Transport Secretary NV Prasad and Transport Commissioner Yogesh on April 25, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy directed them to take steps to ban bike taxi operations as per the court order.
Sources in the department said, “As per the court order, the ultimatum ends on May 14. The department has to ensure that the court order is implemented by then. Bike taxi aggregators will be asked to stop their operations by May 14. If they fail to do so, there will be no other option for the department but to seize the vehicles and initiate action against the aggregators.”
On Monday, bike taxi riders met Reddy and submitted a petition, urging him to reconsider the decision to implement the ban order. Over 100 riders, including members of Namma Bike Taxi Association and those working with Rapido, Uber and Ola, met the minister.
In the petition, the riders urged the minister to protect their livelihood. "The government should formally recognise bike taxis as a legal mode of transport and implement a structured policy framework to protect their rights," they said.
“We are not criminals. We are trying to earn a living with dignity,” said Ramesh K, a bike taxi rider and member of the association.
He said, “If bike taxis are legal in New Delhi and Maharashtra, why are we being denied this right in Karnataka?”
Many poor college students, single parents, and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic have become bike taxi riders. They now face a bleak future because of the order, the petition said. Stating that the Union government’s Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2020, recognised bike taxis, the petition stated that Karnataka is yet to frame such guidelines.
N Reddy, a rider, said, “If the government makes rules, we will follow them. There is no logic in taking away my only source of income in the absence of rules. How long should we wait for the government to make those rules?”