Uber, Ola operating without requisite license in Bengaluru: Karnataka transport dept

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Transport Department has mentioned that each of India’s main experience hailing firms – Uber and Ola – are working within the metropolis of Bengaluru with out the requisite licenses, including that they’re awaiting the state authorities’s directives on additional motion.

Ola’s license to function as an app-based taxi aggregator within the metropolis expired in June, whereas Uber’s license expired earlier this month. Whereas each firms have utilized for renewal of their licenses, officers of the state transport division advised ET that they’ve executed so too late.

“The laws require an aggregator to use for renewal of license 60 days earlier than the expiry of license. However each operators haven’t complied with this,” mentioned L Hemantha Kumar, Extra Commissioner, Transport Division.

In keeping with the division, Ola utilized for renewal of its license solely after it issued the corporate a discover asking it to grab its operations within the metropolis and report compliance. Ola is known to have utilized for renewal of its license someday in October.

Uber then again is alleged to have utilized for renewal of its license to function in Bengaluru solely 4 days earlier than its expiry, state officers added.

“We’ve got written to the State Authorities to advise because the laws are issued by the state authorities, and there are additionally court docket orders associated to the operation of cab aggregators. We are going to act as per the federal government’s instructions,” Kumar mentioned.

Karnataka was among the many first states in India to manage corporations comparable to Uber and Ola, introducing formal laws within the type of the Karnataka On demand Transportation Expertise Aggregator Guidelines, 2016.

Furthermore, the state’s capital metropolis Bengaluru, can also be among the many largest markets for app-based rides within the nation, making it a significant marketplace for each firms to have the ability to function with none restrictions.

“We’ve got filed our software for renewal of license in December this yr and have acquired an acknowledgement for a similar from the division,” an Uber spokesperson advised ET.

Ola didn’t reply to ET’s queries till the time of publishing this story.

This isn’t the primary run-in app-based taxi aggregators have had with the Karnataka state transport division. Each Uber and Ola had taken the state to court docket when the laws had been launched, arguing that they had been merely suppliers of know-how and never transport operators.

The Karnataka Excessive Courtroom had on the time dominated in favour of permitting the state to manage such entities, whereas hanging down some clauses within the On demand Transportation Expertise Aggregator Guidelines that associated to knowledge assortment by the state authorities.

Then in March 2019, the state transport authorities had issued a discover to Ola suspending its license within the state for six months after it was discovered to be working bike taxis within the metropolis, laws for which didn’t exist at the moment. Ola was allowed to renew operations within the metropolis inside two days, following the cost of a positive.

Earlier this yr Karnataka unveiled a brand new coverage for bike taxis, however restricted operators to make use of solely electrical two-wheelers.

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