Bengaluru: The transport department issued show-cause notices to major ride-hailing aggregators, including Ola, Uber, Rapido and Namma Yatri, alleging violations of govt-prescribed fare norms.The action follows complaints from several taxi and driver associations that the aggregators were charging passengers fares higher than the rates notified by govt on Feb 3, 2024. The associations alleged that some platforms were calculating fares based on factors such as travel time instead of adhering to govt-fixed rates.At a meeting on Aug 4, vehicle driver associations urged transport department to initiate strict action against the aggregators and direct them to collect fares strictly in accordance with the govt notification.Kempegowda International Airport Taxi Owners’ and Drivers’ Welfare Association sought legal action against Ola, Uber and other aggregators, alleging they were not following the notified fare structure. The association claimed the companies were instead using time-based calculations for determining fares.In another representation dated March 16, Karnataka Drivers’ Federation state president Narayanaswamy sought govt intervention, alleging that aggregators, including Ola, Uber, Namma Yatri and Rapido, were not ensuring that drivers received fares in line with govt-prescribed rates.In the notices, the transport department directed the aggregators to comply with govt-fixed fares and provisions of Rule 9 of Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016.The companies have been given seven days from receipt of the notice to submit their written explanations. The department warned that failure to respond would be treated as having no explanation, following which further action could be initiated under Rule 11 of Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016.Transport department sources said it has not received response from the aggregators so far.
