Back on the road: Karnataka lifts 6-month ban on Ola

Two days after the ban on Ola, Karnataka’s Minister for Social Welfare, Priyank Kharge, took to Twitter to announce that the ban imposed on ride-hailing company Ola, had been lifted. In his tweet, the minister said that Ola has been allowed to do ‘business as usual’.

On Friday, March 18, the Regional Transport Department had issued a notice to ANI Technologies, Ola’s parent company, asking it to suspend its app-based cab services in the city.

The RTO issued a notice banning the Softbank-backed company from operating in the city for running bike taxis in the city which the transport department found illegal as the state has no policy framework. Karnataka government’s transport department suspended aggregator license of Ola Cabs for a period of six months, starting March 18.

Ola termed the suspension of its license “unfortunate” saying that it halted “bike taxi experiment” weeks ago. The company reaffirmed that it is “evaluating all options to find an amicable solution” for its driver-partners in Karnataka to continue working.

“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,” the company had said earlier in a statement.

“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,” it added.

Earlier, the Karnataka government’s transport department had sent notice to the company seeking a response for operating bike taxis. It, however, found the reply “not satisfactory” thus suspending its license for a period of six month