The Karnataka transport department, on Tuesday, October 11, ordered that no cab aggregators must offer auto rickshaw services starting from Wednesday, October 12. The decision was taken after the Transport Commissioner THM Kumar held a meeting with aggregators, including Ola, Uber and Rapido. The commissioner said that a fine of Rs 5,000 will be levied for vehicles that are found running without a three-wheeler licence.
The Karnataka Transport department on Thursday, October 6, sent a notice to Uber, ANI Technologies — which runs Ola — and Rapido ordering them to stop auto services in Karnataka. The move came after several commuters raised complaints about the high prices charged by the aggregators. The app-based cab aggregators charged a minimum of Rs 100 for auto rides. However, the minimum government-mandated auto fare is Rs 30 for the first two kilometres, and Rs 15 for every subsequent kilometre.
Speaking to the media, the commissioner had said that the aggregators are not authorised to operate auto rickshaws without getting a three-wheeler licence. He also said that if an application for the license is submitted by the aggregators, it would be forwarded to the government for action. “The government will take a decision on access and convenience fee,” he said, according to a TOI report.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had also discussed the issue with commissioner Kumar on Monday and said that no company should work without a licence, and that strict action will be taken against them.
On Tuesday, a committee of 13 auto rickshaw unions put forth a seven-day deadline to ban all the aggregator apps. They demanded that the Karnataka government should also create an app like the Kerala government’s Kerala Savari app, which is the country's first online taxi service owned by a state government.