Karnataka Transport Department officials have impounded around 200 bikes operating as taxis in Bengaluru.

The vehicles were impounded as part of a crackdown against the operation of illegal bike taxis. The officials impersonated customers and booked bike taxis on app platforms. Several two-wheeler owners were unaware that bike taxis are illegal. Cases have been booked against bike owners and a fine of Rs 2,000 will have to be paid for using bikes with white number plates on them for commercial purposes. The impounded vehicles included bike taxis belonging to Ola and Rapido.

RTO officials have booked cases against the owners and referred them to court. The impounded vehicles have been kept in RTO offices.

“Several mobile app based aggregators, like Ola and Rapido, are illegally operating the bike taxi business. Bike owners are held responsible for using private bikes for commercial purposes. We referred the cases to the courts concerned, and they have to pay the penalty as per the directions of the court. All the impounded vehicles are parked in the RTOs,” Additional Transport Commissioner C.P. Narayana Swamy told The Hindu.

The drive comes after the Transport Commissioner issued a notice to ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates Ola cabs, for managing bike taxis. The notice was issued after inquiry reports were prepared by senior police officials from Bengaluru (South) who investigated Ola for illegally offering bike taxi services and for flouting rules regularly, reported Deccan Herald.

56 bikes were impounded at Jayanagar, while 28 and 35 bikes were impounded in KR Puram and Yeshwantpur