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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday admitted for regular hearing a petition filed against two ridesharing services.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued notices to the authorities concerned on the petition filed by a taxi driver seeking legal action against Uber and Careem for violation of the public transport laws.
Mohammad Abdul Shakoor Malik in his petition said why drivers associated with the two services had been exempted from getting registered with the transport authority, obtaining permit, licences and colouring their vehicles as per the requirement of the government.
“The gross violation of the law by Uber and Careem has created a non-level playing field in the taxi business.”
The petitioner through his counsel Umer Gillani cited the secretary Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), SSP (traffic) Malik Matloob, Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman, Careem Cab Network and the general manager of Uber Technologies as respondents.
The petitioner said Uber and Careem had set up mobile phone applications that can be downloaded to smartphones and work in conjunction with their respective websites.
Through the websites and applications, as well as through their offices and media communication, the companies invite car owners to become their agents and provide rides to passengers.
The two cab service providers are now operating in many cities, including Islamabad. In Islamabad alone, the number of drivers providing rides to passengers has increased manifold.
Drivers of the two companies do not fulfil any of legal requirements laid out in the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965 or the National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000.
The petitioner requested the court to direct the ITA to ensure that new entrants into the market for contract carriage permits such as the two aforementioned services are subjected to the same legal and regulatory requirements enforced against existing licensees, and to proceed strictly against those who refuse to comply.
The petitioner also prayed that the ITA, SSP and chief commissioner may be directed to ensure that the petitioner’s complaints annexed with the petition, which disclose allegations of cognisable and non-cognisable offences, are investigated and proceeded against in accordance with the law.
Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2017
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Comments (40) Closed
Sep 16, 2017 11:53am
I think Uber and Cream are not Taxi Services, these are categorized under Rent a Car...
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Sep 16, 2017 11:56am
Did no body tell these taxi drivers and their lawyer that the law also states that taxis must have a meter and passengers be charged by the meter, the same journey that these cabies used to rob passengers with 1000rs or 800 rs is now commuted for 250rs or max 300 rs in careem or uber car since they are billing thru a meter that is run on their app... And anyone can check the journey distance ....
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Sep 16, 2017 12:00pm
Yellow cab taxi drivers should improve their service, clean up their taxis, install meters (as required by law) and not haggle with customers if they want to stay competitive. Trying to shut down Uber and Careem using judicial activism is not the correct way forward.
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Sep 16, 2017 12:01pm
No problem with asking any transport operator to fulfil legal obligations and follow the law. Local taxi operators should also fix their own home - old, unreliable vehicles that most certainly cannot pass traffic codes for safe operation, rude and often crass drivers, unmetered taxis, drivers that are willing to fight with their passengers at the end of journey due to the unspecified fare, services that are not keeping up with the times - if the local taxi mafia is really concerned with the progress and future of their trade, they should pull their socks up and also address their ancient and out dated services. The public should be the winner - no matter what the outcome!
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Sep 16, 2017 12:06pm
Local taxis are fulfilling "National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000" . A joke of the year
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Sep 16, 2017 12:08pm
Ok shut shutdown uber n careem bt implemenet the laws which they are referring. Implementation of taxi meters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Local taxis are charging atlewst 3 times than actual. And sitting idle at taxi stand for few cutomers to butcher n then sleep.
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Sep 16, 2017 12:16pm
IHC while accepting petition must ask the petitioners can they ever provide quality service at reasonable rate to people?
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Sep 16, 2017 12:23pm
How about these taxi drivers also use taxis meters as per legal requirements and stop ripping off people. Then talk about something else.
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Sep 16, 2017 12:28pm
Our court system is pathetic why manoply of taxies why no competition why no respectable transport to common Pakistanis why stoppage of progress and advancement
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Sep 16, 2017 12:29pm
@Omer " the same journey that these cabies used to rob passengers with 1000rs or 800 rs is now commuted for 250rs or max 300 rs". But somebody needs to tell you that Uber and Careem are not paying a commission to public servants, the taxis do. Who do you think these public "servant" would side with in this matter? Then you wonder why we are still a third world country!!!
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Sep 16, 2017 12:33pm
Humongous multinationals must work under framework of equitable laws or elsewise it will open roads for exploitation and indomitable future monopolies.
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Sep 16, 2017 01:09pm
For God's sake, allow the passengers to move out of the cave age.
These brakeless, clutchless, meterless, seatless and everythingless junk called FX and Mehran must be done away with. In any civilized countries such taxis would not even have qualified to move to a junkyard.
Please, please, please ! No more of this junk.
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Sep 16, 2017 01:20pm
First of All there is no transport Law in the country. Otherwise the transport fare would be flexible and monitored by Govt along with 'maintenance of vehicles' engaged in private transportation.
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Sep 16, 2017 01:22pm
"Mohammad Abdul Shakoor Malik in his petition said why drivers associated with the two services had been exempted from getting registered with the transport authority, obtaining permit, licences and colouring their vehicles as per the requirement of the government" All this has nothing to do with uber and careem services ... since they are paying tax and don't fall under taxi service. The pain of taxi drivers is they are far behind from using modern tools and upgrade their cars.
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Sep 16, 2017 01:36pm
We will never want change improvement. Transparent system of car / taxi creating problems for fraudesters in local taxi business.
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Sep 16, 2017 02:14pm
Laws should be made and strengthen to improve our judicial system that may refrain interfering every here and there.
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Sep 16, 2017 02:21pm
Transport mafia is once again active to sabotage any descent transport system in twin cities. Not very long ago, Varan Bus system was sabotaged by Wagon Mafia.
Both Uber and Carem are the future transport system which is run successfully in many countries.
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Sep 16, 2017 02:34pm
Uber and Caream are best services for the facilitation of poor passengers. the yellow cab taxis are looting people especially, the unknown with out meters managing be a law unto oneself.. I think they should also get registered with careem and uber....
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Sep 16, 2017 03:01pm
Regular Taxi's are not clean and their service quality is very poor.
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Sep 16, 2017 03:20pm
I think the normal taxi drivers should get a level playing field. The transport department should make all those things compulsory for Uber and other drivers.
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Sep 16, 2017 03:22pm
i wonder
Taxis running without seat belts (basic safety measure), running without air conditioning (basic comfort level of present days), no authority to regularise the healthy life of a running taxi or rickshaw (a common sense for public transport officials at govt level), no authority to regularise the fare prices of taxis and rickshaws (the most common problem of commuters).
while where have Careem and Uber claimed to be a public transport service? since their inception, they have been maintaining themselves as a community sharing rides. anyone can join the community just by downloading the app.
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Sep 16, 2017 03:40pm
Careem and uber offers taxi facility in a respectable and affordable way. Moreover they have cars with latest models, not old cars like suzuki FX of 1982. Why traditional taxi drivers recall all rules now, even they also don't follow them either. Something which is providing facility for general public always makes such mafia controversial, but I am sure such mafia will not succeed this time. InshaAllah
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Sep 16, 2017 03:46pm
An attempt in futility because these types of petitions against Uber and other ride-sharing independent firms all over the world have been thrown out by courts based on the basic principles of "free-market economy" and "freedom of choice" where every body irrespective of who they are, have the right and equal opportunity to do business in any field.
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Sep 16, 2017 03:51pm
Careem and Uber started looting people by using different techniques. For example, drivers come at the pick up point and one passengers are in the car meter started without moving car then driver says he could not go to the destination due to heavy traffic and asks passengers to cancel ride which causes charges to passengers. Similarly drivers take longer and traffic jam routs saying regular rout is completely jammed. Sometimes drivers stop at gas station and increase waiting charges. Specially in Karachi many drivers (so-called CAPTAINS) are using such techniques. Is there any authority to check and control them?
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Sep 16, 2017 03:52pm
Taxi mafia crying because Uber and Careem want to bring Pakistan into the 21st century. No body wants to ride in the patheechar death traps that are called "Taxis" in Pakistan. At least with Uber and Careem you get a clean, air conditioned car with a polite driver and you don't get swindled.
If anything, should the taxi driver mafia which to do something about it, they should upgrade the services their members provide, starting with banning the deathtrap jalopies that classify as yellow cabs in Pakistan.
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Sep 16, 2017 04:09pm
@Amer Rao "Regular Taxi's are not clean and their service quality is very poor." According to your leaders, you don't deserve anything better.
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Sep 16, 2017 04:14pm
Nobody wants to travel with strange uneducated drivers without licence in yellow taxi.
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Sep 16, 2017 04:35pm
@Shaheen yes, affirmative. You can complain there office. You can even refuse to pay right away.g
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Sep 16, 2017 04:49pm
@Shaheen - I had this problem around Gulshan Area. I called careem and they were prompt in resolving this. There is actually no comparison between conventional taxi service and modern ride hailing services.
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Sep 16, 2017 04:56pm
Taxi Drivers of Islamabad are Transport Mafia.They always demand un-ethical rent from the passengers. Careem and Uber are best way to avoid the yellow taxi system.
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Sep 16, 2017 05:41pm
@j I hope you know that charges are billed into your next ride and you do not need to pay upfront for cancelled ride. This Careem specially becoming mafia as there is not controlling authority.
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Sep 16, 2017 07:49pm
The court has taken a stupid decision to admit the petition of Yellow cabs. When Uber and Careem are functioning better than our so called taxis, why the need to outdated Yellow Cabs. Those Cab drivers are big robbers and they should be send to jail for doing open day light robbery.
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Sep 16, 2017 07:55pm
Taxi drivers should get over this by now they might be able to fight Uber and Careem but they can't fight technology. They have to up their game.. There is no more spoon feeding.. People have other options!
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Sep 16, 2017 08:29pm
Swimming against the tides is not the way forward taxi walla bahi. Though Uber and Careem should check the condition of the car, the driver license and criminal record, it's absurd to ask them to paint their cars yellow though their drivers could register themselves with transport authority - that should be easy.
General taxi drivers can join the Uber and Careem thing themselves - if Kansas state prison can teach dangerous criminals to code and form a multimillion dollar company,( vooko) I am sure Kareem and Uber can train old-school taxi drivers their system.
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Sep 16, 2017 08:36pm
Although these services are relatively new in Pakistan, they are sure to reduce public transport woes by a significant margin and mark the end of traditional taxi and rent-a-car business’ dominance in the long run.
It appears that these companies are focusing more and more on this demographic, in the hope of positive experiences and reviews that translate to rapid growth in the near future. However, it is likely that these companies face resistance and backlash from local transport unions whose businesses could be adversely affected.
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Sep 16, 2017 10:27pm
The taxi drivers charge so much where as careem is so reasonable I definitely prefer careem it's safe as well as cheap .
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Sep 16, 2017 10:42pm
Taxi drivers charge so much and they're service isn't good at all where as careem is safe as well as cheap . I'll definitely go for uber or careem - Sumaiya
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Sep 16, 2017 11:24pm
Poor taxi drivers are very right in a sense that they've faced & are still facing the daily torture from traffic police, MOSTLY for their taxi colour and valid permit.
Fine for having no valid permit can cost a poor taxi driver 5000PKR (beside seizing of vehicle & not driving until fine/challan is paid)
UBER/CAREEM on the other hand don't have to worry about any formality. All they've to do is Hire, drive & charge.
This is not the way. This is not how it works.
Law is equally applicable on every citizen.
If everyone is so happy with UBER & CAREEM, then change the law. Simple!
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Sep 16, 2017 11:30pm
And Mr.Omer
It is not always that cheeky driver who's rude & charge more. There're many nice & polite taxi drivers out there too.
Not all heroes wear capes.
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Sep 17, 2017 02:13pm
Those who never though of improving their services and robbed passengers deserve this. They are nnoyed cz we are gettinf 1000 times better services in less price
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