Bengaluru Auto Driver Allegedly Knocked Down A Techie For Booking A Rapido Bike Taxi

Bike taxi service Rapido has had a troubled relationship with auto drivers, who accuse the platform of 'illegally' taking away their customers.

Bengaluru, the home turf of the bike taxi, has regularly seen ugly scenes where auto drivers verbally and physically attack Rapido drivers and customers.

BCCL

Customer attacked for booking bike taxi

Yet another such incident has surfaced from Bengaluru, where a man has alleged that he was knocked down by an auto driver for booking a Rapido bike taxi.

"I was taking ride from Rapido. And that drunk driver hit me his auto in HSR layout sector 1 Bangalore. I Had company laptop and gadgets with me. He Hit me with his Auto and run from there," a Twitter user, Azhar Khan, said.

He also posted a CCTV video of the incident that happened in the early hours of Wednesday.

Last night 3:00 Am I was taking ride from @rapidobikeapp And that drunk driver hit me his auto in Hsr layout sector 1 banglore. I Had company laptop and gadgets with me.
He Hit me with his Auto and run from there @CPBlr @BlrCityPolice pic.twitter.com/sNPNaq4RlP

¡ª Azhar Khan (@AzharKhan144122) May 24, 2023

The CCTV footage showed the customer speaking to the auto driver for some time before walking away. As he was talking on the phone, the auto driver dashed forward with his vehicle and crashed it on him, knocking him to the ground.

Case registered

Based on a complaint by the customer, the Bengaluru Police have filed a case and launched a probe.

According to reports, the identity of the auto driver is yet to be established.

Bike taxi driver harassed by auto driver

In March, a video went viral, once again from Bengaluru, showing an autorickshaw driver smashing the mobile phone and helmet of a Rapido bike taxi driver.

SCREENGRAB

He then went on a rant about how bike taxis are a threat to auto drivers like him and also called the Rapido driver, who appeared to be a person from the Northeast as someone from another country.

"Friends, take a look at how the illegal Rapido business is happening. This fellow has come from another country and drives around like a king. You should understand how spoilt the auto department has become and how badly the department is getting treated. He is from some other country but has come to pick up a girl despite having a white number plate," the auto driver said.

Why auto drivers hate bike taxies

The auto drivers have long accused 'illegal bike taxis', which operate at much lower fares, of eating into their income.

BCCL

They have been demanding a ban on bike taxi services in Bengaluru.

Under pressure from the auto unions, in December 2022, the Karnataka government had allowed only e-bike taxis in the city under the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme.

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