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Bengaluru: Uber, Ola, Rapido autos to discontinue in three days, labelled illegal

Bengaluru, IndiaEdited By: Chaheti Singh SisodiaUpdated: Oct 07, 2022, 11:38 PM IST
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According to the Motor Vehicles Act, private vehicles cannot be used for commercial operations in India. Photograph:(Twitter)

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The Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, according to Transport Commissioner THM Kumar, have given these businesses licences to operate exclusively taxis. Automobiles are exempt from the regulations. 

On Thursday, the Karnataka transport department sent letters to ANI Technologies, the parent company of the ride-hailing service Ola, Uber, and Rapido, describing their vehicles as "illegal" and requesting that they cease operations within three days. 

It has been requested that the car aggregators produce a report. This comes after several commuters complained to the transport department about how Ola and Uber charge at least Rs 100 even for trips under two kilometres. Bengaluru's minimum auto charge is set at Rs 30 for the first 2 km and Rs 15 for each additional kilometre.

In accordance with the department's warning, ride-hailing businesses must cease their vehicle services as soon as possible and refrain from charging taxi customers more than the set rate. In addition, the agency threatened legal punishment if they disregarded the directive. 

The Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, according to Transport Commissioner THM Kumar, have given these businesses licences to operate exclusively taxis. Automobiles are exempt from the regulations. 

“Taxis means a motor cab having a seating capacity not exceeding six passengers, excluding the driver,” he added, according to a TOI report.

To compete with ride-hailing services like Ola and Uber, the Autorickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) and the Beckn Foundation, which is funded by Nandan Nilekani, aim to release the Namma Yatri app on November 1.

(with inputs from agencies)