Prohibition on electric bike taxis reinforced

Congress govt revokes BJP government's bike taxi scheme

Transport Department Under Secretary, Pushpa V.S. issued this directive

The prohibition on electric bike taxis, which sparked conflicts between bike drivers and auto drivers, has been reinforced. The Congress government has revoked the BJP government’s initiative aimed at fostering self-employment opportunities. Private transport unions have expressed their satisfaction with this governmental decision.

Electric bike taxis are now banned in the state, including Bengaluru, as the Karnataka electric bike taxi scheme-2021, previously implemented by the BJP government, has been rescinded by the state government. The Transport Department Under Secretary, Pushpa V.S., issued this directive.

On July 14, 2021, the then BJP government launched the Karnataka electric bike taxi scheme to enhance transport accessibility and create self-employment avenues. However, the private transport union opposed it and repeatedly urged for its cancellation.

Responding to a request from a private transport company, the government established a committee chaired by BMRCL MD to assess the necessity and execution of the electric bike taxi project. Subsequently, the committee concluded that the Karnataka electric bike taxi scheme-2021 was incomplete. Accordingly, the state government issued an order to prohibit electric bike taxis, a decision that has been welcomed by the private transport union.

Reasons behind the state government’s ban on electric bike taxis:

1. Heightened conflicts among auto, cab, and bike taxi drivers.
2. Escalation of disputes leading to legal actions and deterioration of law and order.
3. Safety concerns for women and revenue collection backlog for the transport department.
4. Violations of the Motor Vehicle Act by certain aggregators.
5. Non-compliance with regulations by utilizing non-carriage vehicles for transportation purposes.

The state government had previously issued an order to halt bike taxis in the state, but app-based bike taxi aggregators contested the High Court order. The case is still pending in court. Now, with the government’s imposition of a ban on electric bike taxis, it remains to be seen whether the app-based aggregators offering such services will challenge the government’s decision in court again or comply with the directive.