Bhubaneswar RTO Files Police Case Against Aggregator Companies for ‘Illegal Operation’

GG News Bureau

Bhubaneswar, 29th Sept. The Bhubaneswar-I Regional Transport Officer (RTO) has filed a police complaint against Ola, Uber, and Rapido for ‘illegal operation’ in and around the Odisha capital city.

On April 20, 2023, the state government notified the aggregator policy (Odisha On-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Guidelines, 2023). According to the policy, aggregator companies such as OLA, Uber, and Rapido must obtain a license to operate their services and must use transportation vehicles.

However, the three aggregators are operating without a license and using private two-wheelers, which is against the rules, 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.

According to the policy, all app-based vehicles must register with the state transport authority (STA) before being licensed.