The Karnataka State Transport Authority on Monday revoked its six-month suspension order on cab aggregator Ola on the condition that it pays a fine of ₹15 lakh. The State Transport Department had suspended Ola’s licence on Friday for allegedly running an illegal bike-taxi service in Bengaluru.

Transport Commissioner VP Ikkeri told BusinessLine that Ola has paid up the fine of ₹15 lakh imposed on it for running illegal bike-taxi services, in clear violation of the cab aggregator’s licence. “We had given Ola enough time to comply with the law and took action only when it continued to flout the law. We have also issued a notification to Rapido to stop its bike-taxi operations and will wait for seven days before starting enforcement.”

Ola in a statement on Monday said, “We are glad that the issue stands resolved and we regret any inconvenience caused to our driver-partners and passengers since Friday. We look forward to continue working with the State to help address the challenges of mobility. We are committed to creating and enhancing livelihood opportunities for millions of driver-partners in the time to come.”

In an order dated March 18, the State Transport Department said the licence issued to Ola up to June 19, 2019, has been suspended and that Ola’s services must be withdrawn within three days of receiving the order. This happened despite Ola having halted its bike-taxi experiment over two weeks ago and approached the Transport Department with a proposal to run a structured bike-taxi pilot for a four-month period.

Asked if the Transport Department is considering legalising bike-taxis in the near future, like some other cities have done, Ikkeri said, “A committee is looking into all stakeholders’ opinions and issues which must be taken into consideration before legalising bike-taxis. It is a time-consuming affair.”

Meanwhile, the Ola Uber Drivers and Owners Association, which was planning to organise a strike on Monday to oppose the State Government’s decision to lift the ban on Ola, has dropped its plans due to the upcoming elections.

“We were informed by the Transport Department that it acted quickly, and lifted the ban on Ola because of complaints and requests received by the public and a few drivers. The Department has promised to solve driver issues with Ola by arranging a meeting with drivers and the management. We will wait and see what happens and will take further decisions after the elections,” said Tanveer Pasha, head of the Association.

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