By Sneha Johari and Archana Sharma "We haven’t been able to contact the cab companies. There are some officials sitting there who are not telling us anything," states M Manjunath, President, Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union told MediaNama. Manjunath's statement comes a day after we reported that the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Bangalore seized over 60 vehicles belonging to both Ola and Uber for flouting rules in the city. Dr Ramegowda, Bangalore’s Commissioner for Transport & Road Safety, told MediaNama in a phone conversation day before yesterday that online cab aggregator companies had not submitted the proper documents (to obtain a cab aggregator license). Meanwhile, cab drivers from Ola and Uber staged protests near the Bangalore airport from where their vehicles were seized. Translated and lightly edited excerpts from multiple phone conversations with Manjunath: MediaNama: How did the protest start? Why are the cars are being seized? Manjunath: The drivers informed us that they were stuck at the Bangalore airport toll plaza, so we went there. The RTO has been seizing cars since last week, saying that drivers don’t have city permits and are not following the rules and regulations; that we are driving under All India permit and need state/city permits. Ola and Uber aren’t following the state's rules by charging extra money (surge pricing) during peak hours, and the RTO is taking away our cars. The companies have maybe applied for 100-200 permits but there are about 40,000 cars in Bangalore, and because the cars are running illegally that’s why they are being taken. MediaNama:…
