UberPOOL and Ola Share are illegal in Bengaluru from today

With the 3-day deadline issued by the state transport department to cab aggregators – asking them to withdraw ride-sharing services – coming to an end, UberPOOL and Ola Share services in the city will be deemed illegal beginning Friday.

“The cab aggregators collect fare for ride-sharing services, which is against the permit conditions. We are, however, not against carpooling by private car-owners as far as it does not involve exchange of money,” MK Aiyappa, Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety told ET.

“If any driver is found continuing ride-sharing services from Friday, we will take action.”

Aiyappa said cab aggregators did not submit a memorandum – seeking modification of the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules, in order to accommodate ride-sharing in the contract carriage permit – in the last three days. “Had I got the respresentation, I would have forwarded it to the Government,” he said.

Uber and Ola, two popular cab aggregators launched shared cab services in Bengaluru in 2015.

Uber, in the meanwhile, started an online public petition, urging Bengalureans to support UberPOOL. Christian Freese, general manager, Uber Bangalore said: Bengaluru ranks fifth in the list of cities across world which uses UberPOOL. “UberPOOL has registered about one million users in Bengaluru. Presently, 25 percent of Uber users in Bangalore use UberPOOL,” said Freese.

Their pooling service had prevented more than 93.64 lakh kilometres of unnecessary driving and saved 4.40 lakh litres of fuel, he claimed.

Uber also claimed that UberPOOL was ‘within the framework of law’.

“UberPOOL is a product that enables driver partners to pick up and drop identified riders through the Uber App under a single contract. When a rider chooses UberPOOL through the Uber App, he/she consents to another person sharing the trip. The law permits a contract carriage permit holder to stop to pick up or set down passengers who are included in the contractual understanding with the driver,” an official statement said. Ola, however, did not respond.

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