Ola, Uber, Rapido ordered to stop auto services in Karnataka from October 12

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Oct 11, 2022: Ola, Uber and Rapido have agreed to stop aggregating autorickshaws across Karnataka starting from Wednesday and failing to keep the word will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000 per vehicle, the Transport Commissioner announced on Tuesday. However, cab services will continue to remain available.

 

T H M Kumar, who took over the commissionerate recently, said a meeting was held with representatives of the three companies on Tuesday evening. "In the meeting, we told them about the violations and asked them to immediately stop aggregating autorickshaws, which is not covered under the aggregator licence. The companies have agreed to follow our instructions," he said.

The commissioner’s action came following backlash from the autorickshaw drivers who threatened to gherao Transport Minister B Sriramulu’s residence if the government doesn’t intervene to solve the problem.

’New rules will come’

"Ola, Uber and Rapido said that they will soon submit fresh applications seeking permission to aggregate the autorickshaws. Their request will be followed to the state government. However, till the government takes a decision on the matter, they will not be allowed to provide autorickshaw hailing services. This matter has been made clear to the companies," he said.

The commissioner sought to reassure the autorickshaw drivers. "No action will be taken against the autorickshaws. Only the companies found to be aggregating them will have to pay penalties," he added.

To a question on the autorickshaw drivers’ demand to ban all the aggregator companies, an official in the Regional Transport Office said the court’s stay orders do not permit such coercive action against the companies. "We can only take corrective actions," he added.

Courtesy: Deccan Herald