BANGALORE: Autorickshaw services are expected to be affected in Bangalore today, march 20, due to a 24-hour strike called by 20 auto drivers’ unions, under the banner of Bangalore Auto Drivers Unions’ Federation to protest against the ILLEGAL bike and whiteboard taxis operation in the city.
"Bangalore's autorickshaw drivers will go on strike today, March 20, in opposition to the city's private bike taxi aggregators. said Manjunath, head of the Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers' Union. Over two lakh autorickshaws will be off the roads from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight.
The union has called on the state government to outlaw the use of bike taxi services offered by aggregators that operate through smartphone apps throughout the city. Drivers assert that aggregators are enticing young people to use their "illegal" bike taxi services by mounting whiteboards on two-wheelers (designed for personal use) without first securing any authorization from the transportation division.
A video of an autorickshaw driver allegedly breaking a bike taxi driver's phone at a busy city intersection due to the suspected illegal use of such services recently went viral. In an effort to attract clients, autorickshaw drivers and bike taxis have been fighting for space on Bangalore's highways.
The state government of Karnataka launched the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Program 2021 with the goals of enhancing first and last mile connections, promoting eco-friendly transportation options, and streamlining urban mobility.
The State Transport Department was protested by the Auto-rickshaw Drivers' Union Federation of Bangalore earlier in December 2022 for allowing a private company to operate the city's e-bike taxi service. The federation members claimed that private aggregators destroyed their livelihoods by offering incentives through online applications for bike-taxi services.
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