Bengaluru, March 24: Much to the relief of commuters in the southern state, Karnataka on Sunday lifted the six-month ban on app-based cab aggregator Ola Cabs. The decision to revoke the ban comes two days after the state government suspended Ola's licence for flouting rules and operating 'bike taxis' without permission. The Karnataka Transport Department had suspended Ola's license as it was running its bike taxis while possessing a licence for only four-wheelers. The ban order was issued by the state for violating the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016. Ola Cabs Banned by Karnataka Govt; License Revoked For Six Months. 

On Sunday, State Minister for Social Welfare Priyank Kharge tweeted saying that 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.

Here's the tweet:

The ban order was issued on March 18 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.

According to reports, the notice stated; "Earlier this year, Transport Department officials had seized several bikes which were operating as bike taxis for Ola. The officials probed the case and submitted a report to the Transport Commissioner. According to section 11 (1) The Karnataka On Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules 2016, the Transport Department can decide to cancel the license of the cab aggregator as there is a violation of rules.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2019 04:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).