Rapido says it will continue to operate in Bengaluru despite government notice

The startup said the “allegations being made regarding extra money charged by Rapido on auto taxi fares are completely false”.

“In light of the notice issued to auto-rickshaw service aggregators by the commissioner, Road Transport and Safety, Transport Department of Karnataka, Rapido would like to clarify that none of its operations in the city of Bengaluru are illegal. We have received a notice from the Road Transport Authority, and we will be responding to it within the stipulated time,” the company added.

“All our fares are determined in accordance with the fares decided upon by the state government, and Rapido is not charging any extra money over those fares,” Rapido said, adding it would “continue operating in Bengaluru under the ambit of the law”.

The Karnataka Transport Department on Friday issued notices to Ola, Uber and Rapido, ordering them to halt their autorickshaw services in three days.

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Apart from the allegations of overcharging, state transport commissioner THM Kumar said the licences granted to the aggregators – under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016 – applied only to taxis and not autos.

The Times of India first reported that the minimum fare of autorickshaws booked through aggregators had crossed Rs 100 in Bengaluru. The auto fare in Bengaluru is Rs 30 for the first 2 km and Rs 15 for every kilometre thereafter.