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NDTV
7 days ago
- Automotive
- NDTV
Bengaluru Commuters Ride As 'Parcels' After Bike Taxi Ban
Benglauru: Indian 'jugaad' - a Hindi word that loosely translates as 'unconventional and innovative' - is a wonderful example of creative problem-solving, and don't let anybody ever tell you different. Remember the story of the Mumbai auto driver who earns as much as Rs 8 lakh a month without driving his vehicle? How? Well, think less auto rickshaw and more bag storage area. Now there's a new story, from Bengaluru, where app-based ride aggregator Rapido seems to have cleverly replaced the banned 'bike taxi' service with a 'bike parcel' service, creating a business offering commuters hassled by traffic jams and poor road infrastructure have happily jumped (pun intended) on. How? By booking themselves as a 'parcel' for intra-city couriers driving two-wheelers. The apparent improvisation comes after the Karnataka government acted on a High Court directive to suspend operations of two-wheeler taxi services operated by app-based aggregators like Rapido. The court had ruled these 'bike taxis' to be illegal. READ | Bike Taxis Come To Halt In Karnataka As High Court Ban Kicks In On Friday last, i.e., June 13, a division bench refused pleas from the companies behind the Uber, Ola, and Rapido apps to stay that ban, which is to remain in place till the state government notifies specific rules and guidelines for 'bike taxis' under the Motor Vehicles Act. The court said it might be inclined to grant a stay if progress had been made towards framing those rules, but the state government dashed commuters' hopes by saying it had taken a policy decision to not frame such regulations. The court then set the next hearing for June 24. READ | How Legal Battle Over 'BIke Taxis' Began In Bengaluru In response to all of this, Bengaluru commuters have flooded social media with photographs and pithy comments about traffic in the state capital, a perennial and worsening issue. "The bike taxi ban starts today in the Product Owner at Rapido Bike app has already bypassed the law... can't book a ride? No worries - just parcel yourself to work... Call it: 'PaaS - Passenger as a Service'," an X user called Dhanvi said, with a screenshot of a 'bike parcel' booking. The bike taxi ban starts today in Karnataka. ⁰But the Product Owner at @rapidobikeapp has already bypassed the law 💀 Can't book a ride? ⁰No worries - just parcel yourself to work 📦🛵 Call it: "PaaS - Passenger as a Service" #Bangalore #BikeTaxiBan #GrowthHack #Rapido … — Dhanvi (@Tummala_Dhanvi) June 16, 2025 Another X user, Amutha Bharathi, had the same idea. "Karnataka High Court has Banned Bike Taxis around the state from today... Uber Renamed 'Moto' to 'Moto Courier'... Rapido Renamed 'Bike' to "Bike Parcel' Intelligent move..." Bad bad decision. Permanently gridlocked Bengaluru needs all the available public transport options including bike taxis. Karnataka needs to look at Asia pac countries, not other India states, to make policy decisions. Can't imagine life without ojek in Jakarta. — Aruna Urs (@Arunaurs) June 14, 2025 Many also decried the court and government's move as a "bad decision", highlighting that a "permanently gridlocked Bengaluru needs all available public transport options, including bike taxis..." NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
News18
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Simran Says She Was Mocked For Playing ‘Aunty Roles' By A Female Co-Star
After Simran received an award at the JFW Movie Awards, she opened up about a female co-star who she said had sent her a rude message. Actor Simran, a celebrated name in the Indian film industry, has showcased her talent across multiple languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. Recently, she made headlines after receiving an award at the JFW Movie Awards. During her acceptance speech, Simran opened up about a disappointing incident involving a female co-star who had once sent her a rude message—something that left her both shocked and disheartened. She shared, 'Just recently, I sent a message to a female co-actor saying, I was surprised to see you in that role. Immediately, I got a message from her saying, at least it's better than not doing an aunty role. Such an insensitive message, actually, I did not expect. It's her opinion, but I felt I could've gotten a better answer, I felt." The actor seemed hurt by the response and spoke openly about it on stage. Simran added that she had worked hard to earn her place in the film industry and was proud of her journey. Simran also responded to the remark made by the co-star about 'aunty roles." Simran: i Messaged a Female Co-Actor I was surprised to see you in that roleCo-Actor: Atleast it's better than doing a Aunty roleSimran:Such an insensitive reply i got. It's better to do Main Aunty roles than doing Dabba role — AmuthaBharathi (@CinemaWithAB) April 20, 2025 She said, 'But, I feel it's better to do aunty roles and main aunty roles – mother of 25 years. I have done it in Kannathil Muthamittal also, then playing dabba roles and doing nothing. That's what I feel. We should feel confident on what we all want to do. I don't deserve this; I've earned this on my own. Whether it is an aunty role or a mother role or I don't want to say…whichever role. It is my choice, and it has earned me a good name." Simran is currently seen in Good Bad Ugly starring Ajith Kumar in the lead role. The film has been directed by Adhik Ravichandran. Released on April 10, it has received positive reviews, with many praising its engaging screenplay. Simran will appear in a horror fantasy thriller titled The Last One, which is directed by Lokesh Kumar. First Published: April 21, 2025, 13:44 IST
