Bengaluru, March 22: Chief Minister HD Devegowda led Karnataka government’s transport department on Monday issued an order to suspended app-based Ola Cabs's aggregator license for half a year with immediate effect. This has been done as the cab aggregator violated license norms by running bike taxis.

According to the information, the state’s transport department suspended aggregator license given M/s Ani Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola Cabs, Bangalore for six months. With the suspension in place, it means Ola Cabs will not be plying on roads across the state of Karnataka.

Official Notice by Transport Department:

The official Transport Department’s notice reads, as reported by India Today, “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.” Are UBER, OLA & Other Cab Aggregator Apps Safe for Women? Here are some Safety Tips for Female Passengers. 

Adding more, the notice further says, “Prior to this, a notice must be sent to the company in question. Hence on February 15, 2019, the Transport Department had sent Ola a notice, asking the company to respond to the findings of the probe. Ola sent its reply on March 3, 2019.”

It further reads, “As the company's reply was not satisfactory and did not provide any evidence which proved it did not violate norms, the Transport Department, as on March 18, 2019, has decided to suspend the license of Ola for a period of six months. Ola will have to submit the original copy of the license within three days of receiving a copy of this order.”

Ola Cabs’ official reply:

With the suspension in place, Ola replied, “Ola is a law-abiding company that has always worked with the Government to develop livelihoods, improve mobility, and enable a new technology industry. We are evaluating all options to find an amicable solution wherein hundreds of thousands of driver-partners in the state of Karnataka can continue to work and serve the mobility needs of our citizens.”

Adding more, it said, “We have been closely working with the authorities on this topic, responding to queries and making proactive representations to the ministry. Despite other companies continuing to operate illegally, Ola halted our bike taxi experiment weeks ago, instead seeking the state's cooperation to develop a legal framework for a pilot that will continue to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the mobility economy.”

Expressing dissatisfaction over the suspension, Ola Cab said, “This notification is unfortunate, and we look forward to an opportunity to address these concerns directly with state officials to find a solution for our driver-partners and millions of Ola users in Karnataka.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2019 08:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).