Private transport operators called off their strike following assurances by Transport Minister B. Ramalinga Reddy to address their concerns and demands.
On September 11, most autorickshaws, cabs and private buses stayed off roads in Bengaluru in response to a call by Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Association. It is estimated that around 7-10 lakh transport vehicles operated by private persons or companies, that are part of 32 unions, stayed off the roads across Karnataka. The unions wanted the Karnataka government to fulfil their list of 28 demands.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy went to meet the protestors at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. “As we have conveyed to the federation earlier, we will definitely constitute a welfare board for drivers. I have also spoken to BBMP Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath about establishing an Indira Canteen at the airport for the benefit of taxi drivers. We will also definitely set up an aggregator app, as we are aware that aggregator companies are taking 50% of your earnings,” he told them.
“Measures will be taken to vacate the stay issued by a court in the Rapido case from 2021, and illegal operations of bike taxis will be shut down.”
He also said that steps will be taken to provide loans at low interest rates, clearing pending cases related to the protestors’ demands, and to give highway access to electric autos.
Nataraj Sharma, president of the Federation, said, “Unless we get a written guarantee from the Minister by tomorrow (September 12) evening about fulfilling our demands, we will go on a hunger strike in front of the Transport Department office from Wednesday (September 13).”
Commuters inconvenienced
But, due to non-availability of transport options, commuters were struggling to reach their offices, schools and colleges.
Asha A., employee of a private firm, said, “I usually take an autorickshaw from my house in J.P. Nagar to R.V. Road metro station to get to my office at Trinity Circle. Today, after trying to get a ride for almost an hour, I gave up, and opted to work from home. Bike taxis were available, but at a higher price than usual. But, it does not seem safe to take bike taxis today.”
J.S. Naik, an advocate by profession and a resident of Vidyaranyapura, said he usually takes an auto to the metro station and commuted by metro to work and home everyday. “But since there was a private transporters’ strike on Monday, I left home to the metro station in my car. But parking lots of most metro stations are already full and there is absolutely no parking space available. I checked at three metro stations on the route. Many have parked in the residential bylanes, which I was scared to do as traffic police may lock the car. So I ended up making the full trip to office in my car,” he said.
Senior citizen Rudrappa Patil, a resident of J.P. Nagar, came visiting his daughter’s house in Mattikere on Septemeber 11 morning. He took the metro and got down at the Yeshwantpur station, confident of taking a bus. However, he realised later that the bus stop — Yeshwantpur TTMC — was over a kilometre away and was struggling to make the journey on foot. “I did not realise the two are so far away. I usually took an auto rickshaw from the metro station to my daughter’s house,” he said.
‘Impractical’, ‘politically motivared’: CM, DCM
CM Siddaramaiah, speaking to the media in Mysuru, said peaceful protests are allowed in a democracy, but demands should be reasonable. “We introduced Shakti scheme to benefit women. To ask for compensation because women are not taking private buses is impractical,” he said.
“There is no need for all the private-fare vehicles to protest today. It is known to everyone that private buses are facing some problems as we have enabled free travel for women passengers under the Shakti scheme. For auto and taxi drivers, there might be some political motivation. We sympathise with them, and we want to address their problems. But threatening like this and troubling commuters is not going to yield anything good. The government will definitely consider their problems and address them,” said Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar while interacting with media persons.
Some schools in CBD area declare holiday
Maheshwari, a domestic worker at Yelahanka, said, “The school van for my daughter did not come in the morning. As both my husband and I had to get to work, we decided to let her stay at home today. As she is still young, we cannot let her take public transport alone.”
Apart from some schools in the CBD area, classes are going on as usual across the city. “Students did not experience any difficulties getting to schools as most parents themselves dropped them today. Only schools which are largely dependent on the services of private buses/vans, mostly in the CBD area, have declared a holiday as students could not reach there without private vehicles,” said Shashikumar. D., General Secretary, Karnataka Associated Management of Schools (KAMS).
Most driver unions have displayed a united front while extending their support to the bandh. “In the CBD area alone, 1,000 school buses have not operated today leading to those schools declaring a holiday. This protest covers a broad range of issues faced by drivers and we are all affected by those issues. Hence, we have are all participating in the protest,” said Shanmugam, president, Karnataka Union of School and Light Motor Vehicle Drivers Association.
The few autorickshaws that were plying on the streets were demanding higher-than-usual rates even for short distances, complained commuters.
Chudamani G. S. was seen quarrelling with an auto driver in Malleswaram for demanding ₹300 from Malleswaram to Nandini Layout. Usually, the fare is around ₹120, she said adding that there is no direct bus to Nandini Layout from Malleswaram.
The auto driver Kantharaju said, “Very few autorickshaws are available, and the demand is high. I support the protest call, but I can’t afford to let go of a day’s earnings given my precarious financial condition.”
Bike taxi apps also reported higher than usual demand and prices.
Although the police had given permission for a rally only on the stretch between Sangolli Rayanna Circle and Freedom Park, protestors gathered in large groups in various parts of Bengaluru, like Madiwala, Electronics City, Silk Board junction, Yeshwantpur and Goraguntepalya, before walking towards Freedom Park.
The police are making arrangements to send protestors in batches of 20 to Freedom Park in police vehicles instead of a big rally. Traffic snarls have been observed in Majestic, Seshadri Road, K.R. Circle, Madiwala and on Residency Road, as thousands of drivers have gathered on the streets.
BMTC, Namma Metro emerge alternatives
There were report of stones and eggs being pelted at cabs and autorickshaws that were plying on the roads. At some places, the tyres of the vehicles were punctured. A Rapido rider was thrashed by protestors near Sangolli Rayanna circle. Police could be seen providing protection to drivers who chose to take their cabs and autos out at important locations, like the railway station and airport.
With some auto rickshaw drivers attacking those who have continued to ply on roads despite the protest, the Auto Rickshaw Drivers’ Union (ARDU) has appealed to its drivers to not engage in such activities. “We have appealed to the drivers to not cause trouble to anyone. But there are some miscreants and we cannot do anything about them. Despite our instructions not to, some auto drivers are moving around today charging exorbitant fares from customers,” said C. N. Srinivasan of ARDU.
However, despite reports, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said no untoward incidents had been reported so far. “There have been no major commotions until now as we had taken precautions according to the information we had. We had deployed KSRP officers near protest sites. There have only been some internal fights among the protesters. We are alert as we do not want any harm to public property,” said Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses became the main option for thousands of commuters, especially for those who are looking to travel between the city and the airport. BMTC is running 100 extra buses to the airport. Namma Metro trains were packed with more commuters than usual.
However, contrary to expectations, Kempegowda Bus Station, the largest public transport hub in the city, had relatively lower footfalls on Monday. Since auto rickshaws and cabs have gone off the roads, all commuters from City Railway Station and KSRTC bus stand were expected to take BMTC buses or Namma Metro from Majestic.
K. N. Giriraj, a BMTC official in KBS said that they were seeing lower footfalls in both BMTC and KSRTC bus stands. “Since there was sufficient awareness about the bandh today for at least a week now, many people seem to have cancelled any travel plans they had for today. There was a huge rush till early morning 3:00 am and no space to even stand in the KSRTC bus stand on Sunday night, indicating many who had travel plans to go out of the city today, seem to have left a day earlier itself,” he said.
However, people who landed in the Majestic hub either on trains or KSRTC buses, were faced with an almost complete absence of private fare transport. Though BMTC buses and Namma Metro services were available just a stone’s throw away, many were not happy taking that option, mainly as they were carrying luggage. “It is very difficult to go into a subway, again climb up a bridge, get down, catch two buses or a metro and later again a bus carrying such bulky luggage. That is why we prefer an auto rickshaw or a cab to go home. But nothing is available today,” rued Najundaiah, hailing from Raichur.
The few autorickshaws that were there at the railway station, were demanding even “triple metre” charges, to the consternation of commuters.
Meanwhile cricketer Anil Kumble was spotted taking a BMTC ride back home from the Kempegowda International Airport. He posted a photo of him riding the Vayu Vajra airport bus on X (formerly Twitter).
K. R. Market, the vegetable, fruit and flower wholesale market of Bengaluru, seemed largely unaffected by the strike. The city market was bustling with activity in the afternoon.
Venkatesh, a grocer, said the early morning trips by retail grocers and flower vendors of Bengaluru to buy vegetables, fruits and flowers were unaffected, as the strike had not picked pace at that time, and autorickshaws were available. “Goods vehicles haven’t been part of the strike. So, arrivals in the market is also normal. Prices are unaffected by the strike,” he said.
Night services to remain unhindered
Kalasipalya, the private bus transport hub of the city, that is usually bustling with chockablock traffic, was packed with parked private buses with drivers and cleaners sleeping and whiling away their time in them. Private bus owners were one of those leading the transporters strike in the city. The Congress government’s Shakti scheme, which offers free bus rides to women in RTC-run buses, has hit them hard. They are now demanding that the scheme be extended to private buses as well and the government reimburse tickets issued to women on private buses too.
With hardly any commuters in Kalasipalya on September 11 afternoon, the place wore a deserted look. However, Imran Khan, a supervisor with a private bus service said that buses would start trips again on Monday evening after 5 p.m. This, despite the strike being extending till midnight. “None of the private transport firms have cancelled their night services that go from here to various towns in and out of the state, Monday night. Those who have booked tickets for night services, their journeys will be unhindered,” Mr. Khan said.
