UberPOOL and Ola Share stand illegal in Bangalore from today

As the 3-day deadline issued by the State transport commissioner M.K.Aiyappa to cab aggregators- Uber and Ola to withdraw their ride-sharing services ended yesterday, UberPOOL and Ola Share now stand illegal in Bangalore starting today.

According to the transport department, the ride-hailing firms have contract carriage permits, which do not allow them to pick up and drop passengers during the course of a trip. Such a permit only allows for point-to-point pick-ups and drops.

Though Aiyappa has said that if any driver is found continuing ride-sharing services from Friday, the state will take action but looks like, Uber is in no mood to concede. The company has also floated a public petition to garner support for ride-sharing, anticipating an imminent crackdown from the transport department.

“As we believe that UberPOOL is within the law, right now there is no push to stop the product. We have always said that ride share is something that is very much welcome for a city like Bengaluru,” said Christian Freese, general manager, Uber, Bengaluru.

“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,” Uber said in an official statement.

Uber and Ola, had launched shared cab services in Bengaluru in 2015 and according to Freese Uber’s pooling service had prevented more than 93.64 lakh kms of unnecessary driving and saved 4.40 lakh litres of fuel.

The state transport department had forced shuttle service provider ZipGo to halt operations in Bengaluru in December 2015 on similar grounds.

Ola is yet to comment on the ban.