Ola a multinational company which provides an app-based cab service, their license has been canceled by Karnataka Government’s Transport Department for 6 months. Ola is a familiar name in the cab service in India and a large number of people use their services. This step has been taken because Ola started the bike taxi service in Bengaluru without permission from the government.
The Transport Department of Karnataka has suspended Ola Cabs for six months, i.e. not operating the cabs on the roads across the state of Karnataka. According to Section 11 (1) of the Karnataka On Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, the Transportation Department can decide to cancel the license of the Cab due to violations of the rules.
Ola was first started in Mumbai in 2010 and after that, its head office was transferred in Bengaluru. At present, there are around 10 thousand Ola cabs in Karnataka, which are serving in Mysore, Mangalore, and Hubli except for Bangalore.
In the notice of Transport Department of Karnataka, it was stated, “Earlier this year, the officials of the Transport Department had seized several bikes which were running as a bike taxi for Ola. Officials investigated the matter and submitted a report to the Transport Commissioner.
It was further informed in the notice that the report was sent to Ola on February 15, 2019, and the company was asked to answer the findings of the investigation. Response from Ola on March 3, 2019
In this case, an official statement is given by Ola. The company issued a statement saying, “Ola is a law-abiding company. We have always worked closely with the government to pursue new technology. We are looking for a solution that allows thousands of driver partners in Karnataka state to continue their work and meet the needs of the people. “
Also, the company has said about this matter, that the notice is very unfortunate and we are trying to work closely with the government in this regard and are looking for solutions for our drivers-partners and users.
The company further said that, despite the fact that other companies are providing their services illegally, we have stopped our bike taxi experimentation a couple of weeks ago. We have demanded state cooperation to develop a legal framework for pilots. Which can also benefit in the future.
