KARACHI: The Sindh government also sought legal action against Careem, Uber and A-One, a day after the Punjab government declared the services of mobile-application taxi service providers as ‘illegal’ and has contacted PTA, seeking to block Careem’s mobile app.
In a statement, Transport Secretary Taha Farooqui said that he wrote five letters to the management of Careem as a warning, but received no reply. The government also initiated action against Uber to bring the app within ‘official compliance.’
According to the transport secretary, private cars would need to be made commercial in order to be used as taxis.
“Owners of the cars would be required to obtain fitness certificates for the cars. Route permits would be needed before the cars can be used as taxis,” he added.
While talking to media, Sindh Transport Minister Nasir Shah said that Uber and Careem had not been banned, adding that they had only been sent notices to comply with route permit, excise and taxation department challans.
He said that these challans need to be paid along with certain requirements that need to be fulfilled for private vehicles to be used for providing commercial transport services.
When asked whether the existing transport options had fitness certificates and complied with the route regulations and legal requirements, Shah recapitulate that he agreed that the existing transport infrastructure was not a better option compared to Uber and Careem.
However, he stressed that, unlike Punjab, the services had not been banned and only compliance notices had been sent to the companies. Punjab government on Monday declared the services of Careem and Uber ‘illegal’.
Mobile-app taxi service providers and ride-sharing companies like Uber and Careem have faced regulatory problems in various countries in the past, prompting new legislations by government authorities.
