Commuters hailed taxis from Ola and Uber on Monday despite the Transport Department ordering the cab aggregators to stop operations forthwith. Not only did they operate as usual, but also charged the controversial surge prices (taking the minimum fare far beyond the cap fixed by the government).
The department had on Sunday warned of action terming their operations illegal, as taxi aggregators are yet to provide details and police verification certificates of the drivers, and secure a licence to operate.
Department sources said that the companies have not submitted all documents needed to grant a license under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules.
They had submitted details of just around 100 drivers, which were being vetted by the department. However, this is a miniscule number when compared to the total number of taxis partnering with the two companies, sources said.
On Monday, drivers claimed that nearly 1,400 cabs had been seized in the past three months. Some of them continued their protest against the crack down by the department.
Drivers meet officials
A group of drivers met officials on Monday seeking clarifications on a few points.
“We heard rumours that fines will range from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000, but officials clarified that fines cannot exceed Rs. 3,000. They also turned down our request not to stop cabs,” said Mr. Pradeep N., president of the Jai Bharatha Vehicle Owners and Drivers Association.
While there was no enforcement on Monday, officials say that they cannot stop seizing vehicles till licences are granted. “We are not against taxi drivers, but we have to do our job of stopping violations,” said Narendra Holkar, Joint Commissioner (Transport).
Getting the number right
For obtaining a license under the new scheme, aggregators will have to pay Rs. 500 per taxi besides the licence fee of Rs. 1 lakh and a security deposit. Official say this will help the government get a fair idea of how many taxis are registered with each aggregator, a figure which is rarely disclosed on a city level.
