Carpooling services discontinued by Ola, Uber in Bangalore as the government claims them to be illegal

Key Highlights

The department said that these carpooling services are illegal under the present act in Bangalore and they will be writing to the government requesting it to take a decision on the service.

Taxis can continue operating pick and drop services from point A to point B but they aren’t allowed to stop in the middle of the route to bring more people on board.

This decision was taken by the department in a meeting where the representatives of the Ola and Uber were present.

Cab aggregators like Ola and Uber have been directed by the Karnataka Transport department to stop their carpooling services in Bangalore, starting immediately. The government also asked them to remove these services from their mobile phone apps as well. If failing to do so, the government will have to resort to taking action against these companies.

The department said that these carpooling services are illegal under the present act in Bangalore and they will be writing to the government requesting it to take a decision on the service. A mobility sharing policy has to be put in place. Till a decision has been reached regarding the same from the government’s side, these services will be considered illegal.

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He added that in Bangalore, only the Metropolitan transport corporation is in the possession of a stage carriage license. Taxis can continue operation pick and drop services from point A to point B but they aren’t allowed to stop in the middle of the route to bring more people on board. The department has no objections if a sharing ride is operating from one point to another, provided it doesn’t pick up new passengers on the go.  

He also said that the BMTC has been opposing the idea of cab sharing as their business is getting affected by the same. If Ola and Uber are allowed to continue these services, other cab aggregators will soon start approaching them to start similar rides.

This decision was taken by the department in a meeting where the representatives of the Ola and Uber were present. Ola and Uber drivers have welcomed this decision wholeheartedly but will most probably affect the general public who used this service daily as it was cheaper as compared to the other services offered by the cab aggregators.

A passenger, Abhijit who uses these cab sharing services as a means of the daily commute was really unhappy with this decision and said ridesharing is an affordable alternative to passengers that travel daily. One can travel the distance of 4 km in a mere ₹50.  He further called this decision regressive saying many countries are promoting carpooling as a means of bringing down congestion on the road. 

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The president of Ola, Tanveer Pasha commented on this decision saying that while carpooling is a cheaper alternative to their customers, the money earned by these rides isn’t enough to even meet the expenses of their drivers. The drivers also have to pick up various customers from different places. The effort is just not worth it.

He further added that the cab-sharing platforms couldn’t guarantee the safety of their passengers and drivers in these rides as random people can share the same ride.

He further confirmed that the cab companies were asked to stop these services as they are illegal in the state and violate the Motor vehicle rule. There has been no provision for this service yet, hence the transport department asked them to discontinue their services immediately. 

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