Cab-sharing and ride services Ola, Uber, and Rapido received a notice from the government which in turn led to a major crackdown on autorickshaw licences in the city. Many autos were fined and seized in Bengaluru by the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in view of the fresh guidelines.
Following the seizure of several autorickshaws drivers staged a protest over the “outrageous” guidelines issued by the authorities in Bengaluru. Auto drivers urged the government to act against the ride-sharing services for which they were working.
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Why are auto drivers in Bengaluru protesting?
After the government issued a fresh set of guidelines for Ola, Uber, and Rapido, asking them not to offer autorickshaw rides through their applications, it appeared that many auto drivers continued to work under these companies.
The guidelines of the Transport Department came after several complaints of high auto fares of Uber, Ola, and Rapido were made, to which the authorities decided to respond by banning auto rides by these services altogether.
For flouting the norms issued by the government, the Karnataka Transport Department ended up seizing and fining several auto rickshaws. This triggered a massive outrage by the auto drivers in Bengaluru, who took to the streets in a series of sports protests.
Drivers sat on the roads to protest against the RTO seizing their vehicles, saying that it is impacting their livelihoods, and demanded that they return them. This led to the blockage of the streets and massive traffic jams in parts of Bengaluru.
When questioned as to why they didn’t comply with the guidelines issued by the Karnataka government, auto drivers said that they were being “harassed” by the ride-sharing services. They urged the government to move against Uber and Ola and not just the auto drivers.
The protests against the government stopped after two hours, while Uber and Ola said that they have already complied with the guidelines set by the Karnataka government.
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