Ola, Uber warned of strict action by K'taka govt if auto services not stopped

Taxi aggregators Ola and Uber have been directed by the Karnataka government to stop their autorickshaw services in the state with immediate effect as the enforcement for this will begin from Monday. Last week, the state government issued a notice to Ola, Uber and other taxi aggregators for violating the Karnataka On-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rule 2016 by illegally operating autorickshaws and overcharging from the customers.

However, despite the notice, the cab aggregators have not shown any sign of obeying the government order and thus the warning of strict action has been issued. "We had given them three days to stop their services. We also had asked them in our notice to furnish details if they have any to us in this duration. They have not responded yet. So, the enforcement will start from tomorrow," a senior transport department official told PTI.

The auto rickshaws operated by these cab aggregators were also operating on Sunday while still charging high amounts as compared to meter-based regular charges. An autorickshaw driver Manjunath, who is associated with a cab aggregator firm, told PTI that he would like to see the government taking action. "We had seen a similar notice served to the cab aggregators just before the elections but no action was taken again. Now once again when the assembly elections are nearing, similar notice has been served. I want to see the government taking action," he said.

The action comes after many passengers complained of overcharging by the autorickshaws operating under apps like Ola and Uber. The companies were given three days time to share details if any with the transport department on the autorickshaw services being offered by them.

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