Bhubaneswar RTO files police complaint against aggregator companies over 'illegal operation'

Ola, Uber, and Rapido are operating without obtaining the licence and they are also using private two-wheelers, which is against the norms, said Bikash Chandra Choudhury, RTO, Bhubaneswar-I.

The Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Bhubaneswar-I has filed a police complaint against Ola, Uber and Rapido over 'illegal operation' in and around the Odisha capital city.

The state government has notified the aggregator policy (Odisha On-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Guidelines, 2023) on April 20, 2023. As per the policy, aggregator companies like OLA, Uber, and Rapido must obtain a licence to run their services and they will have to use transport vehicles.

However, the three aggregators are operating without obtaining the licence and they are also using private two-wheelers, which is against the norms, said Bikash Chandra Choudhury, RTO, Bhubaneswar-I.

'We have held a series of discussions with the aggregators at different levels. We have asked them to get aggregator licence and use transport vehicles for their services. We also issued notices to them. However, the companies are using private motorcycles for their services and have not taken the licence from the competent authority,' he said.

The RTO said that he had lodged a complaint with the Saheed Nagar police on Tuesday evening. 'We hope police will now take action against the aggregators,' he said.

As per the policy, all the app-based vehicles will have to register with the state transport authority (STA) for granting of licence.