Car-hailing apps Uber and Ola have received a new warning from the New Delhi transport authorities, ordering both to stop operations until their applications for taxi licenses have finished processing.
Though Uber has already applied for a license to operate as a taxi company, that doesn’t appear to be enough for the New Delhi government. Letters written by officials and obtained by The Wall Street Journal states that Uber and Ola are in “contravention” of an earlier order to stop operating and that in order for their taxi license applications to continue processing, the companies are “directed to seek a sworn affidavit declaring therein that you are complying with the ban order imposed upon your company in letter and spirit.”
Uber declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch. An Ola representative said “We are working with the state authorities at every level and have duly applied for a license in the state of Delhi. We haven’t received any notice or notification post that. On the other hand, we have proactively gone over and beyond the set requirements in terms of customer safety measures across the country.”
Last December, Uber suspended operations in New Delhi for after a female passenger accused a driver of rape, but returned after six weeks after announcing that it had applied for a license under Delhi’s Radio Taxi Act, which requires it to maintain its own fleet of cars, install taxi meters, and run a 24/7 call center.
The incident also put pressure on Uber rivals Ola, Taxi For Sure (which has since been purchased by Ola), and TaxiPixi to apply for taxi licenses. Ola and Uber had previously opposed getting licensed under the Radio Taxi Act because they argue that they are tech companies and not traditional taxi operators.