The cold war between Bengaluru’s autorickshaw drivers and bike taxi drivers did not end even after the government banned the operations of electric bike taxis in the state. In a recent incident, a group of auto drivers allegedly forced a man not to take a bike taxi and even threatened the bike taxi driver.
Also Read – Govt halts e-bike taxi services; Rapido says operations will continue
Bengaluru weatherman popularly known for frequent weather updates on social media took to X and shared his ordeal. He wrote, “As I came out of the metro station, I had booked a bike taxi via @rapidobikeapp. The first ride I got was of an electric bike & when the rider had come to pick me up, the auto drivers started to abuse him & chased him away. Realising that the electric bike taxi was banned in the city, I booked another ride via Rapido & this time I got a Honda bike which is not electric. When he came to pick me up, the auto drivers again forcefully asked him to cancel the ride & didn’t allow me to take the ride.”
Note : The X post cannot be independently verified by Hindustan Times
He said that he booked another ride that is not an electric bike and alleged that auto drivers intervened again. “But when the rider came & we were about to leave, they had come back, forcefully made me get off the bike & started abusing. I told them only electric bike taxis are banned but not normal ones. They said don’t talk rules to us & we know better than you. They didn’t allow me to capture the videos & pics.” He urged the Bengaluru police to ensure the auto drivers do not harm the common people who book bike taxi rides. However, Bengaluru police took note of the incident and said that action will be accepted.
Banning bike taxis has been a major demand of auto-rickshaw unions in Bengaluru. Many incidents had happened where auto drivers were seen assaulting the bike taxi drivers.
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