BENGALURU: At least half of Bengaluru’s cabs will go off the roads from Tuesday as the three-day period given to Ola to return its suspended licence ends on Monday An Ola spokesperson said its legal team was exploring options.
The aggregator plans to operate its cabs till the last possible moment. According to Ola drivers, the company had not been paying them money for trips settled by customers through ‘Ola Money’.
Ola drivers fear they may not be able to ply from Tuesday
On Tuesday, the city might wake up to an early-morning rush, with at least half of Bengaluru’s cabs going off the roads, as the three-day period given to Ola to return its suspended licence, ends on Monday.
Ola said it received the suspension order on Friday. While it charts out a plan of action, the bike-taxi hiring option, at the core of the punitive action by the transport department against the company, made a quiet exit from the platform.
According to the transport department, 65,000 cabs are registered under Ola and Uber platforms. Uber, however, will not be affected. On Saturday, an Ola spokesperson told TNIE that its legal team was exploring options. The aggregator plans to operate its cabs till the last possible moment.
But the cab company might have to fight this battle alone in the courts, without the support of its driver-partners, if they are to be believed.
A few drivers TNIE spoke to on Saturday, said that while cab services are operational, the company had not been paying them money for trips settled by customers through the ‘Ola Money’ platform. “Usually, these payments are made the next day, but we have not received them for four days, which has us worried. We are now accepting only cash payment from passengers. We are worried since we heard of the suspension,” an Ola auto driver said.
Another driver said that while he was still taking Ola trips, he was worried about the implications of the order. “Cancelling licences based on the company starting bike-taxis is unfair. This order will make our lives more miserable, The transport department seems to have targeted only one company, when there are others operating in the city.”
‘Ola to operate till last minute’
Transport department officials told TNIE that there was no question of rescinding the suspension, and that Ola could approach the courts or go off the road. “We received the notice just yesterday, and we will hold talks with government officials and explain that the bike-taxi platform was withdrawn a week ago, after it was run on a pilot basis for one week. We will operate cabs till its is legally possible,” he said.
The transport department has suspended the licence for Ani Technologies Pvt Ltd (umbrella firm for Ola Cabs) under The Karnataka on Demand Aggregators Rules say, “The licensing authority may, after giving an opportunity of being heard, suspend the licence for a period which shall not be less than 30 days and which shall not exceed six months at a time, or may cancel the license,” in case a licence holder fails to justify it.