Transport minister orders crackdown on aggregator buses in Mumbai, and action against RTO officials | Mumbai News

Mumbai: State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday announced a crackdown on not just Uber Shuttle, but every other aggregator bus operator, including Cityflo, for “not obtaining licence from state govt”. He added that stringent action will also be taken against senior RTO officials responsible for “not taking action” against bike taxis and aggregator buses that are illegally operating in the city.”When I enquired with RTO officials, they said they have served notices to the bus aggregators and are awaiting response. But they should conduct raids and penalise them or stop the services,” Sarnaik said. “We also need to formulate a policy for bus aggregators if it is of benefit to a larger section of commuters. But allowing illegal operations of app-based buses should be halted.Sources indicated that Uber Shuttle services could be disrupted on Friday, while one source said the ‘Uber Shuttle’ option could go off the app from Saturday. On Thursday, TOI had reported that many aggregator buses could go off roads fearing RTO action.There are over 450 buses operating under Uber Shuttle, Cityflo and other aggregator bus services across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.A source from Cityflo said the firm had applied for a licence a few months back and has been following up with state govt. “Cityflo has also submitted documents to the transport dept for several compliances and is willing to collaborate with govt to provide bus services,” the source added.At an event on Tuesday, a senior Uber official had said: “Uber Shuttle has received permission in Delhi and Kolkata, with collaboration from the state govts there. It is a licensed product, responding to significant consumer demand. In Mumbai, a pilot project is underway to gather feedback from consumers and study how the service complements existing infrastructure.”Harsh Kotak from Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana said it is unfair to target only Uber Shuttle. There were other app-based aggregator buses, he said, adding that some of the buses operated by him on Uber Shuttle would go off roads from Friday.Another bus operator said that the absence of shuttle buses will be a major disadvantage to office-goers who depend on them in the absence of AC BEST buses on long routes.Sarnaik, who had caught a Rapido bike taxi operating illegally near Mantralaya in south Mumbai last week, said he will accompany RTO officials to crack down on aggregator buses operating without licence.Mumbai: State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday announced a crackdown on not just Uber Shuttle, but every other aggregator bus operator, including Cityflo, for “not obtaining licence from state govt”. He added that stringent action will also be taken against senior RTO officials responsible for “not taking action” against bike taxis and aggregator buses that are illegally operating in the city.”When I enquired with RTO officials, they said they have served notices to the bus aggregators and are awaiting response. But they should conduct raids and penalise them or stop the services,” Sarnaik said. “We also need to formulate a policy for bus aggregators if it is of benefit to a larger section of commuters. But allowing illegal operations of app-based buses should be halted.Sources indicated that Uber Shuttle services could be disrupted on Friday, while one source said the ‘Uber Shuttle’ option could go off the app from Saturday. On Thursday, TOI had reported that many aggregator buses could go off roads fearing RTO action.There are over 450 buses operating under Uber Shuttle, Cityflo and other aggregator bus services across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.A source from Cityflo said the firm had applied for a licence a few months back and has been following up with state govt. “Cityflo has also submitted documents to the transport dept for several compliances and is willing to collaborate with govt to provide bus services,” the source added.At an event on Tuesday, a senior Uber official had said: “Uber Shuttle has received permission in Delhi and Kolkata, with collaboration from the state govts there. It is a licensed product, responding to significant consumer demand. In Mumbai, a pilot project is underway to gather feedback from consumers and study how the service complements existing infrastructure.”Harsh Kotak from Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana said it is unfair to target only Uber Shuttle. There were other app-based aggregator buses, he said, adding that some of the buses operated by him on Uber Shuttle would go off roads from Friday.Another bus operator said that the absence of shuttle buses will be a major disadvantage to office-goers who depend on them in the absence of AC BEST buses on long routes.Sarnaik, who had caught a Rapido bike taxi operating illegally near Mantralaya in south Mumbai last week, said he will accompany RTO officials to crack down on aggregator buses operating without licence.