The Karnataka government on Sunday revoked the six-month ban on ride-hailing company Ola Cabs, days after suspending their licence for flouting rules and operating “bike taxis” without permission.
State Minister for Social Welfare Priyank Kharge said the cab aggregator will resume its business as usual starting Sunday. “However, there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies and also industries too should work closer with government to help evolve policies for innovations,” Kharge said on Twitter.
In a notice to parent company ANI Technologies Private Limited, Ola Cabs has been asked to return its licence as well as cease all its operations with immediate effect. The ban order, dated March 18, was issued for violating the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016. “Under the licence, only app-based taxi services were permitted and there was no permission for bike taxis,” the state transport department had said.
The Karnataka government had earlier said that they are open to talks with the company to avoid the ban. VP Ikkeri, state commissioner for transport and road safety, told Reuters: “It’s a temporary suspension and if they give us a satisfactory response, then we won’t need to implement the ban.”
The enforcement wing of the transport department had impounded nearly 260 two-wheelers belonging to Ola in Bengaluru in the last month.
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