Bengaluru police on Saturday detained several bike taxi riders who gathered outside Vidhana Soudha, protesting against the Karnataka High Court’s directive that led to the suspension of bike taxi operations across the state.
Bengaluru: Tensions flared near the Vidhana Soudha on Saturday as a group of bike taxi riders staged a protest, demanding that the Karnataka government lift the ongoing suspension on their services and introduce a clear regulatory policy. The protest comes in the wake of a Karnataka High Court ruling that effectively halted all bike taxi operations in the state.
The riders were detained shortly after they assembled at the protest site, with police citing the lack of prior permission for the gathering. A case has been registered against the protesters for violating public assembly norms and staging a demonstration in a high-security zone without clearance.
The demonstrators called on the government to intervene urgently and frame guidelines under the Motor Vehicles Act to regulate bike taxi services, which they argue are vital to Karnataka’s urban transport system. They stressed that thousands of livelihoods depend on the sector, and that a fair policy could address concerns around safety and legality.
“We’re not against regulations — we want them. But banning our services without alternatives is unfair to workers and riders alike,” said one of the detained protesters.
Earlier this month, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court, comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar, refused to stay an earlier single-judge order that had directed companies like Uber, Ola, and Rapido to suspend their bike taxi services unless the government notified relevant rules.
The deadline for compliance, initially set for six weeks, was extended till June 15, but the absence of a policy from the state government has left the services in limbo.
