An auto driver in Bengaluru knocked down a software professional after he allegedly refused to pay exorbitant fare and opted for a cheaper Rapido bike ride. The incident was caught on CCTV camera.
Enraged over the refusal by the techie, the auto driver reportedly hit the victim at 3:30 am on Thursday in the HSR Layout Sector One area while he was waiting for his new ride.
The CCTV footage showed the software professional speaking to the auto driver for a few minutes before eventually walking away. Later, the auto driver suddenly crashed his vehicle on him.
According to reports, the victim fell on the road and in the meantime the auto driver fled from the spot. Based on the CCTV camera footage, the police have launched a hunt for the auto driver. Local reports stated that the identity of the victim is currently unknown.
The tussle between auto drivers and Rapido bike riders is an old one. Auto drivers have been protesting and demanding a ban on Rapido bikes.
A few months ago, a video had gone viral of an autorickshaw driver smashing a bike taxi driver’s mobile phone at a major intersection in the city over the alleged illegal use of such services.
Later, the Bengaluru autorickshaw drivers sat on a strike on in protest against private bike taxi aggregators. Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers Union president M Manjunath claimed the state transport department viewed bike taxis as illegal but yet the drivers are operating on the city roads with impunity.
Manjunath also said 21 autorickshaw drivers associations have come together against the bike taxis.
According to an old Indian Express report, bike taxis became popular during and after the pandemic because public transportation services such as metro and buses had limited seating space. Aggregators such as Uber, Ola, Rapido, and others provide services.
Under the Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, the Bengaluru transportation agency authorised private company ‘Bounce’ to operate 100 e-bike taxis in the city to boost first and last-mile connectivity. The department has set a 5km fare of Rs 25 and a 10km fare of Rs 50.
“People are using their personal white-board bikes and scooters as taxis by linking their vehicles with companies like Rapido. This is illegal and has eaten into the income of nearly two lakh auto drivers, whose earnings had already suffered after Covid,” Manjunath told the New Indian Express.
According to Manjunath, Autos have to get permits, observe various restrictions and assure the safe transportation of their passengers. But, there are no guidelines for white-board taxis, and there have been numerous cases in which passengers’ safety has been jeopardised, he said.
Comments
0 comment