Following driver protests in Bangalore earlier this week, Ola Share and UberPOOL are now under the scanner from the Karnataka State Transport Commissioner who termed the services illegal as they are violating the norms of their contract permit, reports The Hindu. Transport Commissioner MK Aiyappa said that contract permit only allows for picking and dropping from start to destination with no stops in the middle during a single trip. Ola Share and UberPOOL rides are permissible under the stage carriage permit that allows companies to charge based on stages of a trip. The Economic Times added that Ola and Uber would not face action over the next four days and that the commissioner would listen to the representatives of the cab aggregators on Monday. A spokesperson for Ola declined to comment on the issue. Uber sent the following statement: "We believe UberPOOL is clearly within the law. 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. With the cost of shared rides upto 50% less than traveling solo, response to uberPOOL in Bangalore has been phenomenal. More than 25% of our total trips in the city are POOL trips. Over the last year - UberPOOL riders in Bengaluru have contributed to save around 9364772 kilometres driven, which equals to saving of 440623 litres of fuel and cut over…
