Bengaluru: Autos continue to ply despite 'ban'; Commuters face slight delays

Bengaluru, Oct 14: The Karnataka government has from Wednesday made the booking of auto-rickshaws on the ride-hailing apps of Ola and Uber illegal. The move, however, doesn't seem to have made much impact in reality with the commuters still availing online booking in Bengaluru.

The aggregators continued to show auto-rickshaw service on their mobile-applications. Though commuters experienced slight disruption , there were not much significant changes.

However, the number of auto-rickshaws using these platforms seemed to have come down in some parts of Bengaluru.

Arun S, a commuter who works in Embassy Golf Links, travelled from Kormangala to Hennur told OneIndia that there was not much difference in the fare price compared to what he used to pay on his previous rides. "I use Ola daily for travelling long distance. I noticed there was not much significant drop in the fare today than the amount I paid for my previous rides. I was charged with Rs 195 to what I used to pay earlier Rs 209 for the same distance."

Another commuter, however, complained that he faced unusual delays. "I prefer to take auto as cab ride is not always an option because it is expensive. However, I faced increasing number of cancellations on both app-based taxi services such as Ola and Uber,'' said Antony Joseph, an IT professional, who took the ride from Wilson Garden to Kammanhalli.

Sneha K, a homemaker from Cox Town, said that after heavy rains on Thursday evening Ola and Uber drivers refused to ply. 'I had to wait almost 30 minutes to book an auto on a cab-aggregator app. It may be because of the slow traffic movement because of heavy rains. But I still could not take the ride. I had to finally take a bike taxi service Rapido from Domlur to KHB colony for a distance of about 9.5 km - and the driver charged me Rs 200.''

While some auto-rickshaw drivers welcomed the move to ban auto services on cab-aggregating apps, some were not at all happy with it.

A number of auto-drivers continue to accept bookings despite the ban. Speaking to OneIndia, Ajay Kumar BR, an auto driver, said,''I have been riding this auto since 25 years. I have to take care of my livelihood. The ban on auto services is not a solution at all. Other regular ones are charging double the fares. This may discourage passengers from choosing an auto and it eventually impact our earnings."

Sridhar, a native of Tumukur district, had come to Bengaluru as a teenager nearly 25 years back. After working for Uber, he said that Traffic Police have started to seize Ola and Uber vehicles operating despite direction from the state government.

Meanwhile, Ride-hailing apps Ola, Uber, and Rapido had told the government that they have complied with the rules and reduced their minimum auto fare for the first two km back to Rs 30 (Rs 30 base fare for the first 1.8 km and Rs 15 per subsequent km).

B Sriramulu, transport minister of Karnataka, earlier said that he held a meeting with the three companies and they have agreed to stop aggregating auto-rickshaws starting from Wednesday. In a briefing with reporters, Kumar said the ride-hailing platforms such as Ola and Uber cannot provide autorickshaw services till the government takes a decision.

The state government also warned app cab aggregators that it would be imposing a fine of Rs 5,000 on vehicles found operating illegally. No action will be taken against the auto-rickshaws and only the firms found to be aggregating them will have to pay penalties.

This development comes after the Karnataka government on October 10 declared the auto-rickshaw services of players such as Ola, Uber and Rapido "illegal", following multiple complaints of overcharging.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Authority issued notices to these companies on Thursday in which it stated that the cab aggregators have been allowed to run the internet-based application taxi aggregator services under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rule-2016.

"Ola and Uber are meant to help commuters without causing them any trouble, but we are getting complaints every year... also there are certain technical issues involved, so notice has been issued to them," Sriramulu told reporters.

Noting that certain conditions were laid down, such as rate fixation among others, while granting licenses, he said, "notices have been issued because there are violations, and on getting a clarification from them, I will take a decision within one or two days."

The action comes after many passengers complained of overcharging by the auto-rickshaws operating under apps like Ola and Uber.

As per the rules, only taxi services can be provided and taxi means a motor-cab having a seating capacity not exceeding six passengers excluding the driver with public service permit on contract, it said.

Officials also said that licenses issued to cab aggregators, Ola and Uber expired last year, and that they can't act against the aggregators because of a case pending before the Karnataka High Court.