In Bengaluru, commuters caught in the crossfire of bike-taxi controversy

BENGALURU: In a city where autorickshaw drivers rarely ply by meter, bike taxis offered relief to many commuters, being a faster, cheaper and accessible travel mode. They also provided jobs to thousands of captains (drivers).
Post Covid-19, autorickshaw drivers, however, complained that their earnings had further reduced due to bike taxis, which prompted the transport department to launch a crackdown against captains.Hundreds of two-wheelers have been seized so far.

“We have been left in the lurch. We don’t know who is booking these rides. Sometimes auto unions and transport department book rides via the app. They seize our vehicles when we reach there to pick them up. If they seize our vehicles, they ask for Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 fine,” said a Rapido captain, who was waiting for customers at Indiranagar. “We earn only for daily expenses after paying the firm the commission (10%-20%). Petrol rate is high and there will be penalty charges in case of cancellations. But auto drivers think we’re becoming rich,” he said.
Sharing a TOI article on 120 bike taxis being seized in four hours, entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tweeted: “Resistance to change. Very sad. Also why do all these objections happen in Yeshwanthpur?”
Many regular bike taxi users said Bengaluru being the start-up capital of the country should be more liberal. “When bike taxis are solving last-mile connectivity issues at an affordable cost, why take action against them?” wondered Kiran M, a user. He said most auto drivers are not ready to ply by government-fixed fare. “The government should first rein them in and then act against bike taxis. If Rapido is functioning illegally, action should be taken against the firm and innocent captains should not be targeted. If auto drivers are not getting business, it is due to their refusal to ply as per government-fixed fare,” said Kiran.
However, M Manjunath, an auto driver, said: “Our earnings have reduced drastically due to bike taxis. How can they operate without yellow-board vehicles? The department should stop this now.”
L Narendra Holkar, additional commissioner of transport (enforcement), said: “We have seized hundreds of Rapio bike taxis since they were plying without nod. Rapido filed a PIL in the high court, so we have not taken action against it but are booking cases against white-board two-wheeler riders who’re using their vehicles as taxis. We’ve got complaints from auto and cab drivers.”
Pavan Guntupalli, co-founder, Rapido, said: “We have a safe insured ride for captains and riders. Government authorities have clearly said post the court order last August that none of our vehicles would be seized and our captains would not be accused of illegal practices. But Rapido is facing these accusations time and again. It has been running since 2015 and in no way has our intent or working ecosystem been illegal across cities. This is a way to harass our captains and brand.”