Hours after suspending Ola cabs for six months the Karnataka government lifted the ban. Priyank Kharge, minister for social welfare for Karnataka tweeted that Ola will run their business as usual from today.
. @Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations.
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) March 24, 2019
The government seems to have changed their mind after people expressed concerns over the livelihood of thousands of drivers using the platform in the state. The minister added that there was an urgent need for the government to address such issues, and catch up with technology.
At present there is no law permitting bike taxis, the minister hopes to get a law in place soon.
Ola who enjoys a bigger market share than Uber in the state was at risk of losing driver partners, customers and revenue after the state transport department decided suspend the online taxi ordering application. If the suspension hadn’t been revoked it would’ve been a huge disappointment for the homegrown company. The company recently also bagged a US$ 300 million investment from Hyundai and Kia motors.
Ola was banned after the company failed to respond to summons issued by the state government over it’s bike riding program. On Friday, the state transport department suspended Ola cabs for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis.