LAHORE – Government has declared three online transportation companies – Careem, Uber and A One – as illegal and directed the authorities to launch a ‘crackdown’ on them.
The notification issued by the administration on Monday ordered the relevant authorities to launch a crackdown on the cab aggregator companies that were running illegally in Lahore, Express news reported.
The services will not only be halted in Lahore but Sindh government has also contacted Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block the application related to ride-hailing services.
Secretary transport Sindh Taha Farooqi expressed that the private cars attached to Uber needed to be commercialised for continuity of services. He went on and said that the transport department sent five letters to Careem administration but no response was heard even after a warning letter.
Punjab Information technology Board (PITB) chairman and advisor to Chief Minister Punjab Umar Saif took to Twitter regarding the issue.
https://twitter.com/umarsaif/status/826334989809811456
As soon as the news of declaring the services illegal went viral, commuters and citizens felt annoyed and helpless, finding no clue of how would they head to offices and homes.
On the other hand, those who were earning livelihood through the services were also saddened by the decision amid burgeoning unemployment trend.
Over the past few years, online transportation services have made a big mark as they look to challenge the conventional taxi business.
