Uber, Ola banned in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh transport department banned on Tuesday the services of taxi aggregators Ola and Uber in the state.

The ban was imposed in view of surge pricing referred to as ‘peaktime charge’ by the companies. The Motor Vehicle Act doesn’t have any provision regarding peak time charge, said Sanjay Tiwari, regional transport officer, Bhopal.

Tiwari said the fares decided by two taxi aggregators were against the norm as they were higher than the government rates.

“There were regular complaints coming against the mobile application based taxi services of violation of Central Motor Vehicles Act. The ban has been imposed with immediate effect after the directive of the minister,” said the statement released by the state government on Tuesday evening.

According to transport department sources, about 700-800 taxis that operate in Bhopal alone.

“The government’s decision will badly hit our income. I have taken the car on loan. It will be difficult for me and many others like me to repay the loan,” said Sanjay Kumar, a taxi driver from Kolar.

The representatives of the two companies couldn’t be contacted for comments.