No commercial licence needed to drive Ola,Uber

Team Udayavani, Jun 28, 2018, 11:38 AM IST

Bengaluru: The State’s transport department has decided to issue a notification allowing people who hold a valid private light motor vehicle (LMV) driving licence to ply taxis, without having to obtain a commercial licence. This move could rapidly expand the pool of available drivers and shrink the waiting time for regular users of cab aggregator services.

Taxi aggregators such as Ola and Uber have been inviting people with a valid licence to join their platforms and boost their income. But many were hesitant, as the transport department hadn’t taken a clear position on this.

“The Court’s order did away with the system of obtaining a separate commercial licence to drive a taxi. Now anyone can become a taxi driver if he has a valid driving licence,” said Transport Commissioner Naveen Raj Singh. However, the rules for police verification would apply, he added.

In April this year, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had come out with advisory asking State governments to comply with the order and Karnataka is the first state to comply with it. 

“Bengaluru has a huge scarcity of drivers. The tourism sector alone needs at least 20,000 more. If rules are simplified, it will encourage women, too, to take up jobs. We had asked the State government to issue a notification, as this insistence on a commercial licence was continuing even after the court order,” said Radhakrishna Holla, president, Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners Association (BTTOA), expressing taxi operators welcome to the move.

“If people holding private LMV licences are allowed to drive a taxi, it will have negative impact on existing drivers, as their earnings will come down,” criticized Tanveer Pasha, president of Uber and Ola Drivers’ Association in Bengaluru