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Mobility Pyramid

In Bengaluru, a conflict has arisen between autorickshaw drivers and bike taxi operators over last-mile passenger transport, with the Karnataka government siding with autorickshaw drivers by banning bike taxis. The Karnataka High Court has mandated that bike taxis cannot operate without a formal policy, affecting around 100,000 gig workers. The Namma Bike Taxi Association, newly formed and less organized than autorickshaw unions, is struggling to advocate for its members' rights amid political dynamics favoring the larger autorickshaw driver community.

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23 views2 pages

Mobility Pyramid

In Bengaluru, a conflict has arisen between autorickshaw drivers and bike taxi operators over last-mile passenger transport, with the Karnataka government siding with autorickshaw drivers by banning bike taxis. The Karnataka High Court has mandated that bike taxis cannot operate without a formal policy, affecting around 100,000 gig workers. The Namma Bike Taxi Association, newly formed and less organized than autorickshaw unions, is struggling to advocate for its members' rights amid political dynamics favoring the larger autorickshaw driver community.

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At the bottom of the mobility pyramid, an intense battle is

playing out that pitches one section of daily-wage


workers against the other. It’s a battle within. One group
rides autorickshaws and the other, bikes. Both cater to
last-mile passenger transport, targeting the same
commuters who seek cheap and simple travel options.

The turf fight between autorickshaw drivers and bike taxi


captains became starkly visible in Bengaluru, one of the
country’s top urban centres, by extension, one of the
largest mobility markets in the country. The Karnataka
state government has taken a clear policy stance
against bike taxis. It secured an order from the
Karnataka High Court that stated it cannot permit bike
taxis without a formal government policy. The court’s
grace period for Rapido, Uber, and Ola to wind down
their bike taxi operations ended last week.

In opposing bike taxis, the Karnataka government has


clearly sided with the autorickshaw drivers. “Allowing
bike taxis will directly impact the livelihoods of these
auto drivers,” Ramalinga Reddy, the state transport
minister, defended the bike taxi ban. On the other hand,
Namma Bike Taxi Association says, “100,000 gig
workers have lost our right to earn and feed our
families.”

City police detained several autorickshaw drivers who were protesting against bike taxis.
Drivers were bundled in a bus and taken to the police station; image credit: Times of India
The political play
Bike taxi union leaders met several ministers and MLAs
in the state. They wrote letters to central ministers and
leaders of the Congress party which rules the state. “You
are our last hope,” they wrote to Rahul Gandhi, Leader
of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
“There is vote bank politics,” said a former senior
executive at a leading mobility firm who oversaw the bike
taxi vertical. Autorickshaw operators in Karnataka would
number around a million, with Bengaluru accounting for
over a third. Bike taxi workers are estimated to be just
around 100,000. Autorickshaw unions are more
organised and have stronger political connections.

Namma Bike Taxi Association, which made the


representations, is very small and just a few months old.
Its president Mohammed Salim says the association had
an accidental birth at the transport commissioner’s office
in late 2024. “Bike taxi guys were often encircled and
threatened by autorickshaw drivers. We frequented the
commissioner’s office with our complaints and ended up
forming a group,” explained Salim.

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