It has also cautioned that these vehicles are not entitled for insurance cover and has threatened to take action against both the companies, said the ToI report.
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According to an official, these two companies have not obtained any permit or licences to run ride-sharing bikes in Bengaluru. The vehicle is a private one and could not be run as a taxi till it is converted into a yellow board transport vehicle. An official said that the rider was riding the vehicle without a badge and yellow board.
The Karnataka government on Saturday seized five two-wheeler taxis belonging to app-based cab aggregators Uber and Ola for violating the Motor Vehicles Act and operating without requisite permissions. “We will not allow them to operate”, the official was quoted as saying in the report.
The service will help people save time and money on short trips across town and provide last mile connectivity, Uber said in a statement. Ola declined to comment, but said it categorically mentioned during the launch that Ola Bike Taxi was only a pilot service and there were no regulations to follow in the state on this type of service.
As against Uber, Ola has launched its services at Rs 2/ km and Re 1/ ride time. A local startup called MTaxi flagged off its bike taxis with around a dozen 100cc commuters.
Earlier this week, Uber launched its bike taxi service named UberMoto, with a starting fare price of Rs. 3 per kilometer.
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The American firm’s UberMOTO will start at 15 rupees (22 U.S. cents) per ride while Ola’s Bike Taxis will start at 30 rupees, but have a lower fare per kilometre.
