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

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Transport Department has said that both of India’s leading ride hailing companies – Uber and Ola – are operating in the city of Bengaluru without the requisite licenses, adding that they are awaiting the state government’s directives on further action.

Ola’s license to operate as an app-based taxi aggregator in the city expired in June, while Uber’s license expired earlier this month. While both companies have applied for renewal of their licenses, officials of the state transport department told ET that they have done so too late.

“The regulations require an aggregator to apply for renewal of license 60 days before the expiry of license. But both operators have not complied with this,” said L Hemantha Kumar, Additional Commissioner, Transport Department.

According to the department, Ola applied for renewal of its license only after it issued the company a notice asking it to seize its operations in the city and report compliance. Ola is understood to have applied for renewal of its license sometime in October.

Uber on the other hand is said to have applied for renewal of its license to operate in Bengaluru only four days before its expiry, state officials added.

“We have written to the State Government to advise as the regulations are issued by the state government, and there are also court orders related to the operation of cab aggregators. We will act as per the government’s directions,” Kumar said.

Karnataka was among the first states in India to regulate firms such as Uber and Ola, introducing formal regulations in the form of the Karnataka On demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016.

Moreover, the state’s capital city Bengaluru, is also among the largest markets for app-based rides in the country, making it a vital market for both companies to be able to operate without any restrictions.

“We have filed our application for renewal of license in December this year and have received an acknowledgement for the same from the department,” an Uber spokesperson told ET.

Ola did not respond to ET’s queries until the time of publishing this story.

This isn’t the first run-in app-based taxi aggregators have had with the Karnataka state transport department. Both Uber and Ola had taken the state to court when the regulations were introduced, arguing that they were merely providers of technology and not transport operators.

The Karnataka High Court had at the time ruled in favour of allowing the state to regulate such entities, while striking down some clauses in the On demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules that related to data collection by the state government.

Then in March 2019, the state transport authorities had issued a notice to Ola suspending its license in the state for six months after it was found to be operating bike taxis in the city, regulations for which did not exist at that time. Ola was allowed to resume operations in the city within two days, following the payment of a fine.

Earlier this year Karnataka unveiled a new policy for bike taxis, but restricted operators to use only electric two-wheelers.

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