Ola Cabs is set to go app-only nationwide in August even as the Delhi High Court questions its continued operations in the capital. The company was supposed to stop offerings their service in the city post January 1, but has failed to comply with the local government’s orders.
The ban was passed due to Ola not complying with the recently amended Radio Taxi Scheme of 2006 since their cabs run on diesel and not CNG, as directed by the legislation. It was ordered to re-apply for the license, but the company claims the legislation doesn’t apply to them since their cabs already have All India Tourist Permits (AITPs) and follow Euro IV norms with regards to fuel.
Justice Manmohan took issue with Ola not using CNG in their vehicles and enforced the ban on them since they didn’t stop their time-delaying and authority-defying response to its legal issues. This comes after the court had suggested that app-based taxi services should be allowed to operate in Delhi as the companies cannot be blamed for the actions of their employees.
The Delhi High Court for now has denied interim relief to allow Ola to run and has set the next hearing for October 5. According to PTI, the taxi service operates in a 100 cities across the country, with over 99% of the bookings being done through its application. Now that it’s going app-only, the company says the number used for getting cabs will become a customer care and assistance number instead.
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Ola is rolling out an update this week which allows for the tool to load quickly even when using a slow network. The company says the upgrade was implemented to assist people living in smaller towns in areas of limited connectivity. The app is currently available for the Android, iOS and Windows platforms.