Video of auto drivers harassing bike-taxi operator does rounds

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Once again, a video has emerged of autorickshaw drivers harassing bike-taxi operators, claiming that the latter are running their businesses illegally. They hold that only those vehicles bearing a yellow registration plate are allowed to operate as taxis. Bike-taxis in Bengaluru tend to be those with regular white registration plates that vehicles for personal use also carry.

Interestingly, in this particular video, an auto driver is seen interacting with a woman passenger, demanding that she uncover her face. He then proceeds to tell her that she was wrong to book a bike-taxi with a white registration plate, asking her to opt for a “legitimate” ferry service with a yellow licence board. Earlier, videos had emerged of auto drivers surrounding and abusing bike-taxi riders.

In one such video, an auto driver could be seen smashing the helmet of a Rapido bike-taxi operator near Indira Nagar Metro Station. The offender had been detained by the police and then released due to the absence of a complaint.