Uber, three other cab operators banned in Bengaluru

The Karnataka government banned Uber and three other cab operators from plying their taxis in the capital city from Friday, a top official said Thursday.

"We have banned Uber, TaxiForSure, Cars on Rent and Zoomcar from operating their taxis in the city under the statutory city taxi scheme, as they have not registered with us," state transport commissioner Rame Gowda told IANS here.

The state government decided to ban the four operators in compliance with the central government's advisory Wednesday to ban web-based taxi service if they have not registered with the state transport department.

"We have allowed eight other operators - KSTDC (Karnataka State Tourist Development Corporation), Ola Cabs, Meru, Easy Cabs, Bangalore Cabs, Spot City Taxi, Megha Cabs and Rapid to run their cabs, as they have registered with us under the scheme," Gowda said.

The ban comes after an alleged rape of a women executive by an Uber cab driver in Delhi Dec 5, which led to national outrage over the safety of women passengers in taxis while commuting.

"We have received a letter from the union home ministry advising us to ban services of Uber and the operators who have not registered under the scheme," state Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told reporters at Belagavi, about 500 km from here.

Reddy is in Belagavi to attend the 10-day winter session of the state legislature since Tuesday.

"We have also directed the registered operators to do background checks of all their drivers and submit their details to the jurisdictional police station across the city by Dec 31," Gowda asserted.

City Police Commissioner M.N. Reddy Tuesday made background check compulsory for cab drivers to ensure safety and security of citizens, especially women using taxis for commuting in the city limits.

Warning of stringent action against errant drivers, Reddy told cab operators and taxi owners that their permit would be suspended if customers lodge serious complaints against their drivers of misbehaving, rash driving, using foul language or acts of criminal misconduct.

"We have asked the transport commissioner to issue stringent guidelines for ensuring safety in cabs and make background verification for all cab drivers mandatory. If they (taxi drivers) are found to have a criminal past, their licence should be suspended till his department issues a no-objection certificate," Reddy reiterated. - IANS