Defiant Uber seeks public support against ride-sharing ban via online petition
Synopsis
One-fourth of Uber's total trips are facilitated by UberPool in Bengaluru. The petition has already received the support of more than 15,000 people.
Despite Karnataka Transport Department’s orders to ban ride-sharing services from today, Uber has decided to continue providing UberPool to commuters in Bengaluru. In fact, it has gone ahead and initiated an online petition seeking public support to compel the Karnataka government to withdraw the ban.
About the continuation of the ride-sharing service, Uber Bengaluru’s general manager, Christian Freese, said, “We believe UberPOOL is within the law. So, right now, there is no push to stop the product. We have always said ride share is something that is very much welcome for a city like Bengaluru.”
The written statement by the company also mentions ‘The law permits a contract carriage permit holder to stop to pick up or set down passengers who are included in the contractual understanding with the driver. UberPool fulfils this requirement, and we believe that it does not violate the contract carriage permit. We will continue to engage with the transport department, and Karnataka government as ridesharing products like uberPOOL are the future of urban mobility, helping decongest cities by getting more people into fewer cars and letting riders move around their city more affordably’.
The online petition using the hashtag #BlrNeedsPool is looking to get 50,000 people to sign it. As of now, the petition has received the support of above 15,000 Bengalureans.
While defending UberPool, the petition states that the service has saved 4,40,623 litres of fuel and also prevented over 9,364,772 kms unnecessary driving. It has also helped cut over 1,037,000 kg of CO2 emissions with ride sharing.
For both Uber and Ola, Bengaluru is one of the top three markets, and Freese stated that the IT capital of India is the fifth-largest market of the UberPool and one-fourth of its total trips are facilitated by UberPool.
You can sign the petition here.