Bangalore, 16 June (H.S.): The bike taxi service that was being run illegally in Bengaluru has been banned from today.

It may be recalled that there have been numerous objections to the service provided by aggregators like Uber and Ola, which use bikes with whiteboard numbers. The private transport federation and auto drivers' associations have been demanding a ban on this service.

In this context, a single-member bench of the High Court imposed a temporary ban on this service on April 2. The aggregators had appealed against this, but now the division bench has extended the ban order and refused to grant an interim stay, resulting in the bike taxi service being stopped in Bengaluru from today.

Meanwhile, the Transport Department has taken steps to identify the bikes that are plying in violation of the court order and has started an operation from today. In the operation conducted today, the Transport Department officials have seized several two-wheelers that were plying illegally. This action is being taken for the safety of the public, legality and traffic discipline, and the officials have warned the bike taxi drivers not to violate the law.

Meanwhile, one bike taxi organization has written a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi requesting them to lift the ban on bike taxi.

Hindusthan Samachar / Rakesh Mahadevappa