Ola & Uber might suffer ban in Karnataka over License issues

Ola and Uber might soon suffer a ban on their operations in Karnataka. The state authorities had already announced that all taxi operators and aggregators who do not have valid license from the state government should stop their operations from immediate effect. But Ola and Uber have continued to provide ride hailing services in Bangalore. This has been considered as a defiance of Government orders, which might lead to a ban on the two cab aggregators.

Till now, state transport authorities had avoided a ban on Ola and Uber since Bangalore hosted the IPL finals on May 29, 2016. This meant that there were hundreds of cricket fans who might have needed on-demand taxis to ply to-and-fro the match venue. As a result, authorities tried to avoid any inconvenience to resident as well as tourist cricket fans. But with the IPL final out of the way, the government might soon take strict actions against Ola and Uber.

The ban in question is the state government's attempt to bring Ola and Uber under the new guidelines laid out for app-based taxi services. In order to get a state license, the companies will need to adhere to many new regulations, that include no surge pricing when the demand is high, better driver background checks, and sticking to the fare chart decided by the Government.

Source: Economic Times