Uber, Others warned against plying taxis in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 21 (IANS) The Karnataka transport department Wednesday warned aggregators of stringent action if they operate taxis in the city without registering with the state government, a top official said here.

"We have directed the aggregators such as Uber, Taxi-For-Sure and others to register with our department by paying Rs.25,000 towards registration fee and provide a bank guarantee of Rs.1 lakh for granting license to operate in the city. We will take action if they are operating cabs in the city without our permission," Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda told IANS.

After Uber taxi service was banned in New Delhi last month following the alleged rape of a woman executive by one of its cab drivers in the national capital, the state transport department banned aggregators from plying in the city without licence on the advice of the union government.

"We have enforced the rule to ensure the safety of passengers, especially women. People should also check with operators before booking a cab if they have registered with our department and have a licence to ply taxis in the city," Gowda said.

The department also raided the offices of Uber, Taxi-For-Sure and other aggregators in the city last month and seized documents.

"We have given the aggregators guidelines listing 25 conditions under which they can operate in the city. Though one of them (Taxi-For-Sure) has sought legal advice on our directive, we have made it clear that they cannot operate till they register with us first. They are yet to report to us," Gowda added.

An aggregator, however, told IANS on the condition of anonymity that since they only facilitate booking a cab using modern technology, they are not taxi operators as defined in the relevant law.