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KSTDC's move to tie up with Ola irks taxi operators

Last Updated 31 May 2017, 18:59 IST
The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation’s (KSTDC) move to tie up with Ola for sightseeing tours has not gone down well with the drivers attached to KSTDC and the Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Owners Association (BTTOA).

CITU leader Prakash K, who also heads KSTDC Drivers’ Welfare Association, said, “We have repeatedly urged KSTDC not to promote Ola, Uber or other cab aggregators. This is especially wrong since KSTDC has its own brand (City Taxi) of cabs. We do not understand why the government is promoting private players when it already has cabs of its own brand.”

“The issues regarding cab aggregators is not limited to the state. Problems are being raised in all the states. It seems to be the government’s policy to promote monopoly in the transport sector. We urge the state government to take a stand to regulate transport aggregators,” Prakash said.

The BTTOA has gone a step ahead to urge all government agencies not to promote cab aggregators. The association’s president Radhakrishna Holla said though the government has failed to bring a rule to regulate cab aggregators, its agencies, like KSTDC and the Railways, are running behind them.

“We will take up this issue with the government agencies which have entered into an agreement with online cab aggregators, neglecting the interests of the local taxi operators,” Holla told DH. He has also written a letter to R S Saxena, Bengaluru divisional railway manager, South Western Railway.

“Cab aggregators have been violating the transport laws. Several cases are pending against them in many metropolitan cities in the country. It is not worthy to support them as long as they do not follow the central motor vehicle rules,” they have said in the letter.

Holla said he will write similar letters to KSTDC and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited requesting them to not to have any tie-ups with the online cab aggregators. “When we are following all the rules laid down by the government, why can’t the agencies provide space for us?” he asked.
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(Published 31 May 2017, 18:58 IST)

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