Banning bike taxis hurts everyone except the system
I’ve been using Rapido for my daily office commute for over 3 years now. It’s not that I can’t afford cabs or autos - I just don’t see the point of paying 200–300 for a 6km ride when a bike taxi gets me there faster, cheaper, and without the daily negotiation drama.
Public transport in Bangalore is broken. It’s not reliable enough to use every day. In that vacuum, tech startups stepped in - Rapido, Uber, Ola - solving last-mile mobility in a way the government never could.
Now they’ve banned bike taxis. Just like that.
This isn't just about convenience. Karnataka reportedly had over 200k bike taxi riders - these guys were making a healthy monthly salary of 30-40k in the lack of other employment opportunities. For many, this wasn’t “side income”. It was their primary job. Flexible, dignity-driven, tech-enabled work. And overnight, they’re out.
These bans don’t protect citizens. They just prove that smart solutions will always be at risk when governance lacks both empathy and imagination.
Fuck this government.
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Completely agree. Not just it was more affordable, it also used to be faster compared to autos and taxis. Seriously, fuck this government.
They are learning quickly from Mumbai. Part of Mumbai spirit is being always frustrated and getting very low value for money, lower than most African countries in fact.
Bangalore is following Mumbai on that route.
Both BJP Congress politicians want this
Have seen bike taxis plying in African countries without an App. Same can happen in India. Who is even asking the bike rider whether he is doing business or not? Bike riders can station around key hubs without any association with Rapido - do business with ease
Not the solution, these decisions make auto unions stronger - they’ll only beat and harass bike taxi drivers and users.
While nothing much can be done about what law of the land decides, one needs to rely on workarounds. Bike taxi owners can also unite & fight back!
It all vote bank politics. If the number of Bike drivers and users combined are capable of delivering more votes than the number of Auto drivers, then bike taxi would have been approved
Yeah it's just politicians being politicians - mostly to keep their auto unions happy cause they indirectly work for them.
This issue is driving top talent away from Bangalore, threatening to erode the city's status as a premier tech hub. If left unaddressed, Bangalore risks following the same trajectory as Kolkata.
Nothing is permanent… I feel diversion of tech hub across cities will helpful than concentration in single city for growth
i wish for all top talent drives away from blr. i would love for job opportunities to diversify so i can leave this place. would love to go to hyd or wherever else
Rapido should appeal in court and users-drivers should protest to revert this draconian ban.
Auto wala are a big votebank of Congress, they will not upset auto wala. A good number of people in Bangalore are outsiders and either do not have voter card or don't go for vote or vote for BJP. So the current govt doesn't care about complaints from residents.