Auto drivers in Bengaluru to go on strike today to protest against bike taxi aggregators
1 min read 20 Mar 2023, 08:31 AM ISTAccording to Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers’ Union president M Manjunath, over two lakh autorickshaws will remain off roads starting from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight. The union has one of the largest membership of autorickshaw drivers in Karnataka's state capital.
PremiumAutorickshaw drivers in Bengaluru to go on a strike today i.e. on 20 March in protest against private bike taxi aggregators functioning in the city. Over two lakh autorickshaws will remain off roads starting from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight, Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers’ Union president M Manjunath said.
The union has one of the largest membership of autorickshaw drivers in Karnataka's state capital. As per PTI report, the autorickshaw drivers will also take out a march from Bengaluru City Railway Station to the Chief Minister's House.
"We will observe a 24-hour strike starting from Sunday midnight. Our agitation is against the illegal operation of bike taxis operating in the city," Manjunath told PTI.
He claimed the state transport department viewed bike taxis as illegal but yet the drivers are operating on the city roads with impunity.
Manjunath also said 21 autorickshaw drivers’ associations have come together against the bike taxis.
Recently, a video had gone viral of an autorickshaw driver smashing a bike taxi driver's mobile phone at a major intersection in the city over the alleged illegal use of such services. Autorickshaw drivers and bike taxis have been competing for space on Bengaluru's roads to gain customers.
The Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme 2021, established by the state government, was introduced to improve first and last-mile connectivity, promote environmental-friendly transport options and simplify urban mobility.
Earlier in December 2022, Auto-rickshaw Drivers' Union Federation of Bengaluru had called for a protest against the State Transport Department for authorising a private company to run the e-bike taxi service in the city. The federation members had alleged that private aggregators ruined their livelihoods with incentives offered through online bike-taxi service applications.
(With inputs from PTI)
