Pune RTO crackdown on Ola, Uber cabs for carrying illegal business

The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) on Thursday took action against 12 Ola and Uber cab aggregators for carrying out business despite being barred by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) which on March 12 issued a letter rejecting licensing applications from Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd and Ola’s parent company, ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd over compliance issues.

Sujit Dongarjal, assistant RTO, who headed the squad, said, “We have taken action against 12 Ola and Uber cabs for operating despite them being banned according to the official RTO order which has rejected their applications.”

“The action has been taken under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicle Act and all these cases will be sent directly to the court as there is no provision for compounding fees to be recovered,” he said.

When asked on why action was taken against only fewcars, Dongarjal said that staff shortage and tasks like taking enforcement of helmet rule, highway monitoring, meeting revenue targets , monitoring of Mumbai-Pune Express highway, Pune-Bangalore highway and a host of other tasks consumed maximum manpower of the RTO office.

Currently, each squad comprises two senior and two assistant inspectors.

The Pune Regional Transport Authority office on Wednesday announced a complete crackdown on the two aggregators - Ola and Uber both of whom have been barred from operating in Pune City, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Baramati by the district collector.

According to the RTO officials, the applications by Ola and Uber for aggregator licences for four-wheeler light vehicles were filed under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines Act, 2020, and have been pending with the Regional Transport Authority since December 2023.

A review of the applications by the RTA revealed that the aggregator companies were not fully complying with the provisions of the Act.

Thereafter a circular was issued by the RTO on December 12 which stated that permission was rejected, and the two aggregators were barred from further operations.

Meanwhile, the authorities have warned about stricter crackdown in the days ahead.