Punjab, Sindh move against online taxi services

Drivers protest action; people using service demand
government to review decision

LAHORE:  The Punjab government on Tuesday described the services of mobile-application taxi service providers as illegal and announced that stern action should be taken against them. The services being suspended included Careem, Uber and A-One taxi services.

A notification was issued by the Punjab Transport Authority, which said that as the above-mentioned companies are illicitly using private cars for services, the provincial government is facing huge financial damages, further adding that cars are being used as taxis without the mandatory car-fitness certificate and route permit. However, it is still unclear if this ban is valid for Lahore only, or that other cities in Punjab are also part of this order.

A notification in this regard has been already sent to Lahore’s chief traffic officer so that these services are not allowed on Lahore’s roads. The notification says that since private cars are being used for transportation, they must not be used for commercial purposes.

The Punjab government also mentioned that as security authorizations of drivers are also not taken from authorities, it poses a security threat to the public, henceforward orders have been issued for taking strict action against them.

Meanwhile, drivers and the company administration staged a demonstration against the ban on Uber and Careem taxi service on Tuesday. The protesters said that the act will leave about 20,000 drivers jobless.

They said that the company provides about 30,000-35,000 people cheap and standard pick and drop service everyday. They said that online vehicles provided consumers pick and drop service from their doorstep and charged Rs10 per kilometer while other vehicles provided the service at Rs40 per kilometer. On the other hand, the people using the service have demanded the government review the decision to ban the service. --Agencies

Our correspondent adds from Karachi: The Sindh government said on Tuesday that it had not shut down the mobile application-based cab services, Uber and Careem, but given them a month to fulfil the necessary formalities under the laws and procedures of the provincial transport service.

Transport Minister Nasir Hussain Shah told reporters that Uber and Careem had not fulfilled certain procedures and formalities because of which notices had been issued to their operators.

The provincial minister said it was necessary to obtain a fitness certificate, a no-objection certificate from the provincial excise and taxation department, and a route permit from the regional transport authority for operating a fleet of motor vehicles under a cab service.

He added that the provincial government would have no objections to the operations of these two new cab services if the companies fulfilled the legal formalities. “In fact, the provincial authorities will extend their maximum cooperation to the operators of these two cab services keeping in view the convenience of the public.”

It has been revealed that a correspondence from the provincial transport secretary dated January 20, 2017 sent to the provincial information science and technology secretary and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority director in Karachi called for a complete shut down of the Careem Cab Service.

It read, “It has come to the notice of this authority that the M/s Careem Cab Service is operating an illegal cab service in Karachi as well as other parts of the province using internet facilities. The operation of such service is in contravention with the provisions of Section 39 and 44 of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965 as no permission, route permit and fitness certificates has been obtained from transport and mass transit department and the government is facing huge loss of revenue. It is, therefore, requested to kindly direct the concerned to immediately stop the illegal operation of M/S Careem Cab Service under intimation to this authority.”

Copies of the correspondence were sent to Karachi DIG Traffic, the Provincial Transport Authority chairman and the Careem Cab Service with a directive to the latter to explain its position within three days of its receipt.

Also, a man named Mohammad Ahsan Puri filed a petition in the Sindh High Court on Tuesday, challenging the Careem Cab Service. The petitioner submitted that Careem was using private vehicles for commercial use which was in violation of the Sindh Motor Vehicle Taxation Act and motor vehicles rules. He added that under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, no non-commercial vehicle could be used commercially for the public.