[dZired]

Karnataka government's transport department has put a temporary ban on cab sharing services like UberPool and OlaShare, claiming that such services violate the existing permit and transport laws. The department has also mentioned that the said services will be resumed once the Union and State government make appropriate amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act.

The state transport department has claimed that as per the current Motor Vehicles Act, cabs are not allowed to offer services with multiple pick-up and drop points. That means a cab should not pick-up passengers from different points and then drop them at different destinations, during a single trip. However, the department hasn't banned operators from picking up and dropping off more than one passenger between two fixed points.

Understanding the limitations of the Motor Vehicles Act currently enforced, cab aggregators like Uber and Ola have asked for a window of 3 days to change their platform's software in order to stop offering such services. The transport department has thus given a deadline till Friday, February 3, 2017 to stop offering these cab pooling services.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP News

[sudev]

Bureaucracy is hide bound and instead of moving with times would always like to interpret laws negatively. Damn the consumer and benefits like lower pollution etc.

Why only Karnataka? If this follows from MV Act then all states should ban.

[anurag.somani]

Sad to say, but the government of Karnataka is becoming more regressive & citizen-unfriendly with each passing year.

So, instead of a safe, comfortable & in-expensive commute via cab-share, we're again at the mercy of auto-drivers with F1 attitude & hideous fares.

[dark.knight]

In other news, the rul.. er authorities have taken suo moto cognisance that amongst the fundamental rights of citizens of the nation i.e 1) Right to Equality 2) Right to freedom 3) Right against exploitation 4) Right to freedom of religion 5) Cultural and educational rights and 6) Right to constitutional remedies, there is no mention of "Rights to breathe free oxygen" mentioned. An alert bureaucrat having pointed this out mentioned that adequate measures have to be taken so that this right is introduced in Part 3 of the Constitution of India.

Until then there is a proposal for breaths to be held, oxygen will be provided at request in cylinders at a subsidized rate until the requisite changes are made.

Bring it on!! Lets all get our magnifiers and flex our devilish imaginations to find and fix every loophole in the "books of rights".

[LoneTraveller]

A sattire on the ban on cab sharing services

Banning shared cabs in Bengaluru to protect our beloved traffic jams: Karnataka CM

Bengaluru: Cab sharing services like UberPool and Ola share will be illegal in Karnataka from next week. As many affected passengers were left wondering about the reason behind this step, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has come out with a clarification behind the move. He has said that since shared cabs were reducing congestion on the road, Bengaluru’s world famous traffic jams were starting to suffer and the government has taken this step to preserve the traffic jams for the next generation.

BengaluruWorld famous Bengaluru traffic jam
“Yes shared cabs are cheaper and convenient for people and they do help in reducing the traffic congestion but should we be selfish and start thinking about only us? If everyone starts using shared cabs instead of traveling via their own personal cab then what will happen to our traffic jams? What legacy will we leave behind for our future generations? Today we proudly tell everyone that our traffic jams are the best in the world but will our children be able to say that?” Questioned CM Siddaramaiah.

Further, he added ,”From our end, we are doing the best that we can to preserve these traffic jams. Our focus remains development of infrastructure but not at the cost of traffic jams. The government can’t do it on its own though so we need help and support from general public as well. They must support us in this step to ban shared cabs and should start booking their personal cabs. That will ensure that there is no reduction of the number of cars on the road and our traffic jams keep prospering.”

As per sources, government is also planning to ban pillion riding on two wheelers as well so that more and more two wheelers can also join the traffic jams.

Source

[Dry Ice]

Obviously the auto and taxi unions have more representation in the govt. than the common man. It is not hard to see whose interests are being served here. This is what, the 3rd or 4th time the govt. of KA has banned these cabs? The pretext is always the 'benefit' of commuters or as in this case, a lack of legal framework governing the service.

Why are Blah-Blah and other car pooling services spared? I guess they are yet to become as popular and the auto/taxi unions might not be aware of them .

I seriously hope, other states don't follow suit.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by dZired

The department has also mentioned that the said services will be resumed once the Union and State government make appropriate amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act.

They had better make it soon.

Truth is, Uber & Ola's cab-sharing services are the FIRST successful car pooling concepts we've ever seen. Whoever tried to get into car pooling earlier (apps, websites, startups) have all miserably failed. This is the ONLY car pooling option that has gained traction. The government should actually encourage these initiatives rather than discourage them as sharing leads to lesser cars on the road & saving fuel.

I know many people who are super happy with Uber's cab sharing service.

[srishiva]

I think the main reason is that other unions complain against Uber and Ola on the laws. I dont think the govt wants to ban them permanently. What do you do when someone complains and shows the violation?

Hopefully, they will allow them as soon as possible. They have taken such steps previously.

[anurag.somani]

Originally Posted by GTO

They had better make it soon.

Truth is, Uber & Ola's cab-sharing services are the FIRST successful car pooling concepts we've ever seen. Whoever tried to get into car pooling earlier (apps, websites, startups) have all miserably failed. This is the ONLY car pooling option that has gained traction. The government should actually encourage these initiatives rather than discourage them as sharing leads to lesser cars on the road & saving fuel.

I know many people who are super happy with Uber's cab sharing service.

There are several hoardings from Bangalore Traffic Police which encourage cab-sharing. Regular car-pooling with office-colleagues is not practical for most folks who work flexi-timings.

Now that we finally have a solution with uber/ola pool, what does the government do? Nip them in the bud. Why? To protect their local vote-bank of autowallahs & their unions.

I'm all for not congesting roads if commute is simple.
But with the terrible infrastructure, restricted geography of public transport, & hostile attitude to cab-services - no thanks, I'd rather drive to work.

On a side-note, I wonder what signal the Karnataka government is sending to outside investors with its high-handedness (when the central government is laying the red-carpet for investment in India).

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by anurag.somani

On a side-note, I wonder what signal the Karnataka government is sending to outside investors with its high-handedness (when the central government is laying the red-carpet for investment in India).

For the side-note, they have done it better than others and much earlier than others !

I agree they should have changed the rules without resorting to banning them first. They are increasingly doing such stuff of late.

[sdp1975]

Perhaps the KA govt should apply the provisions of the MVA uniformly.

There are shared auto services plying in Bangalore ( Yemlur road , Begur road ) with multiple passengers and different drop points. They also put 2 passengers next to the driver , overloading the auto. No action against them ? And I'm not even talking of the exorbitant rates - mostly for short distances - they ask for, completely against fare rules.

Ola/Uber have always been targeted in KA.