Bengaluru Orders Cab Aggregators To Stop Auto Service For Charging Rs 100 As Minimum Fare

Amid the row over the minimum fares charged by app-based aggregators for auto rides, the Karnataka Transport Department has asked the likes of Ola, Uber, and Rapido to stop their services in Bengaluru.

According to the mandate set by the transport department, the minimum fare chargeable by autos in Bengaluru is Rs 30.

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How minimum fare became Rs 100 in Bengaluru

However, with the addition of convenience charges and GST, the minimum about charged by app-based aggregators goes up to around Rs 100.

As previously reported, Ola, Uber, and Rapido were charging Rs 100 as the minimum fare. "It has been directed to the aggregators to stop the services immediately and submit a report within three days," the company said.

GST, the minimum amount charged by app-based aggregators goes up to around Rs 100.

As per the official notice, guidelines have been issued for running auto rickshaws mandate them to operate using the fare meter.

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Cab-aggregators can't operate autos

A notice was issued to ANI Technologies, which operates Ola, Uber, and Rapido, asking them to stop auto rickshaw services because the current rules permit only taxis to operate through aggregators. "Taxi means a motor cab having a seating capacity not exceeding six passengers, excluding the driver," said the notice.

According to the Road Transport Authority, cab aggregators have been allowed to run internet-based taxi aggregator services under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rule 2016.

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

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Rapido said its operations in Bengaluru are not illegal and it will respond to the notice.

"All our fares are determined in accordance with the fares decided upon by the state government, and Rapido is not charging any extra money over those fares," the company said in a statement.

Bike taxis in soup in Bengaluru

This is not the first time app-based car aggregators have faced a crackdown in Bengaluru.

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In February this year, over a hundred bike taxis from Rapido were seized by the authorities for using their vehicles for commercial purposes without a valid licence.

Cab-aggregators pulled up by CCPA

App-based cab aggregators have also come under scrutiny for their questionable practices, including surge pricing, cancellation fees, etc.

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In May, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) summoned representatives of cab-hailing apps after it received a large number of complaints from customers.

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