Karnataka Govt. declares Ola and Uber's bike taxis illegal

Leading app-based cab aggregator rivals Ola and Uber just recently started testing motorbike ride hailing services in Bengaluru, and now it has been declared illegal by the Karnataka State Transport Department.

The department has cautioned people not to use the services and says that users will not be eligible for insurance, if the vehicles are involved in any accident. The state department also said that Ola and Uber have not obtained permit or license to operate the motorbike ride services in Bengaluru, and have to obtain RTA (regional transport authority) permission to in case to operate. 

The bike taxi services are currently being run as non-transport vehicles, and in-order to operate in Karnataka, they should be converted into transport vehicles. The bikes offered by Ola and Uber have no badges and yellow boards, which is a must requirement for transport vehicles.

Additionally, Regional Transport Authority has seized several bike taxis of Ola and Uber, because they were operation without a permit.

To recall, Ola's pilot Bike Taxis service is offering customers ride for as low as Rs 2 per km. The minimum fare is Rs 30 with Rs 2 charged per km and Re 1 per minute of trip time. Uber's'uberMOTO base price is Rs. 15, followed by Rs 3 per km and Rs 1 per min of ride-time charges.

Via