Just a matter of time, says Priyank Kharge on lifting bike-taxi ban in Karnataka | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: Amid continued debate over the recent bike-taxi ban in Bengaluru and other parts of the state, information technology minister Priyank Kharge Thursday struck an optimistic note, suggesting that the return of bike-taxi services is inevitable. Speaking at Enroute: Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Challenge, organised by Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India along with WRI India here, Priyank said: “With bike taxis, it is just a matter of time … we are working around it. Just because we don’t have a policy doesn’t mean we can stifle innovation.” The minister’s comments offer a ray of hope to commuters and mobility startups, hinting at the possibility of a regulatory framework that welcomes innovation instead of resisting it. The bike-taxi ban was imposed by the transport dept with effect from June 16 following a high court directive and lack of policy framework on regulating the mode of transport, which had become popular among Bengalureans. While bike-taxi operators blamed the dept for buckling under pressure from the autorickshaw lobby, ordinary commuters questioned: “Why can’t the govt come up with a new legislation that is in sync with technology-driven mobility solutions instead of sticking to archaic rules?” Mirroring commuters’ sentiment, Priyank recalled the early days of online cab aggregators: “As soon as Ola and Uber became popular, we initially banned them. But they approached me and said, ‘Sir, how can you ban innovation?’ That’s when we realised these services could actually complement our ecosystem.” In fact, the minister’s remarks came in response to former MP Rajeev Gowda’s description of the bike-taxi ban as a regressive move. Gowda had stated: “We need to be tougher in how we deal with various lobbies and pressure groups. Nobody wants to hurt auto drivers. But on the other hand, as a city of two-wheelers, if bike taxis are working, the ban may not be a positive progressive move. It may actually be regressive.”
