The Pune Regional Transport Authority (RTA) has formally declined the pending applications from Ola and Uber for the aggregator license at the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO).
This decision was made following a meeting on March 11, chaired by Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase and attended by Regional Transport Officials.
Subsequently, the RTO issued an official letter, rejecting applications from ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ola) and Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd.
Previous instances where the RTA had denied the aggregator license for light vehicles due to discrepancies in their documents formed the basis for the rejection.
Following a review on March 11, all transport authorities concluded that the documents of both ride-hailing companies did not meet the required norms outlined by the central government’s Motor Vehicles Aggregators’ Guidelines, 2020.
Will Ola, Uber Cabs function in the Pune district?
The rejection of aggregator licenses raises the question for Punekars: Will cabs still operate in Pune?
According to these guidelines, an aggrieved aggregator can appeal to the state government within 30 days of receiving the order and they can ply the cabs during this period in the district.
Despite approximately 45,000 to 50,000 cabs, including those operated by Ola and Uber, having been operational in the city since 2014 without licenses, various complaints from cab drivers about fare increases remained unaddressed due to the absence of a state policy, leading to uncertainty.
Although the transport authority rejected the licenses of both companies to operate autos in the city in 2023, they continued to provide auto services.
An RTO official confirmed that both companies were operating illegally and their operations needed to be halted. Sanjeev Bhor, an RTO official, stated that further decisions would be made by senior authorities, and the companies had been granted 30 days to appeal to The State Transport Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
Pune Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Sanjiv Bhor emphasized that if the companies persisted in operating in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, and Baramati despite the rejection, it would be considered illegal, and appropriate action could be taken against them.
