(MENAFN- KNN India)
Auto unions in Bengaluru to protest against govt nod for e-bike taxis in city on Dec 29 Bengaluru, Dec 22 (KNN) To protest against the state government's decision to allow e-bike taxis in the city, the auto rickshaw unions in Bengaluru have called for a strike on December 29.
As per reports, the unions have also raised objections to other bike taxis“operating illegally”.
The Karnataka government had introduced the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme in 2021, primarily aiming at first and last-mile connectivity from bus stands and metro stations.
As per the scheme, the state government has fixed the fare at Rs 25 for 5 km and Rs 50 for 10 km. It also mandates that the distance between the origin and the destination trip should not be more than 10 km.
The Auto rickshaw unions claim that the introduction of e-bike taxis with such low fares will affect their business.
“We have raised the objections several times before. We are against the e-bikes which will drop passengers to 10-15 km. According to the rules, the e-bikes should be used to ferry people to metros and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Let them operate within the prescribed radius of the metro and bus stands,” auto rickshaw drivers' union member D Rudramurthy said.
“The transport officials did the same with Ola and Uber who were looting customers. Only after objections were raised, they took action against them and gave them notice. We have decided to go on strike on December 29 in this regard. We will go to the court also if needed,” he said.
Currently there are about 1.4 lakh licensed autos and another 15,000- 20,000 unlicensed autos in Bengaluru.
“If passengers are taken for 15-20 km on e-bikes, they charge Rs 5 per kilometre. But it's Rs 15 for auto rickshaws. Customers will prefer them and our business will be affected,” Rudramurthy said.
The auto rickshaw unions said in the last six decades auto rickshaws have played a pivotal role in public transport.
“However, the recent arrival of app-based cab aggregators have made a mess of the system by offering attractive offers to customers and also incentives to cab drivers. They have taken control over the industry and now wield much more power than the government,” Bangalore Auto Drivers Union's Federation said in a statement.
Urging the state government to withdraw the license, M Manjunath, President of Adarsh Auto Drivers' Union, said“The government and the transport department have also agreed that this is illegal. Now, our livelihood will be affected, If they give license to one company, others will follow.”
(KNN Bureau)