<article><a style="color: #000080;" href="http://zipgo.in/" target="_blank">ZipGo Technologies Pvt. Ltd</a> has suspended operations in Bengaluru after the Karnataka state transport department raided its office on Wednesday, alleging that the bus and mini-van aggregator is violating rules by operating without necessary permits.</article>

<a style="color: #000080;" href="http://zipgo.in/" target="_blank">ZipGo Technologies Pvt. Ltd</a> has suspended operations in Bengaluru after the Karnataka state transport department raided its office on Wednesday, alleging that the bus and mini-van aggregator is violating rules by operating without necessary permits.
The transport department has served a notice to ZipGo asking the firm to provide documents of the licences and other details of the vehicles that are aggregated on its platform. The regulator alleged that ZipGo is running a stage carrier service, similar to state-owned buses that picks up and drops passengers at various locations, at different fares.
The vehicles plying on ZipGo’s platform are issued contract carriage permits that allow them to pick up passengers from one pick-up point and drop them at a final destination, the regulator said.
ZipGo operates an app that allows registered members to book rides along different points on preset routes, similar to a city bus or shuttle service. This kind of a service pits ZipGo in direct competition with state-operated city bus service Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corp., said Narendra Holkar, joint commissioner (enforcement) for transport.
“Maxi cabs can operate in the city if they are under a contract with entities like schools, companies, colleges&#8230; it also operates for private tours and travels but this is mostly inter-city and not intra-city,” said Ramegowda, transport commissioner, Government of Karnataka. “What they (ZipGo) are doing is illegal.”
The rise of ride-hailing cab services such as <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.olacabs.com/" target="_blank">Ola</a> (operated by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd) and <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.uber.com/" target="_blank">Uber Technologies Inc</a>. over the last few years without the necessary regulatory provisions has spawned multiple new transportation services aping the on-demand model for bikes, shuttle services and shared rides.
A number of companies—<a style="color: #000080;" href="http://shuttl.com/" target="_blank">Shuttl</a>, <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://cityflo.com/" target="_blank">Cityflo</a>, <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.limoapp.in/" target="_blank">RBus</a>—are already operating app-based shuttle bus services in other cities, including Mumbai and Delhi. Ola, India’s largest cab-hailing service, is testing a shuttle bus service in Delhi where passengers are picked up and dropped at various locations for a flat fee.
Many app-based transportation firms have started such businesses in the hope that regulations will catch up once the operations expand as in case of cab aggregators.
The legal tussle between Ola and the US-based Uber with regulators across the country led to central government creating regulations in November that govern app-based ride-hailing companies. However, the provisions of the new central government regulations are not binding on state governments.
ZipGo launched a women-only bus service in Delhi earlier this week, but Karnataka transport officials say they are in no mood to allow companies to “violate rules in the name of technology and aggregators”.
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<h4>This article was first published on <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/za2e195x2LhwCxcrsA9KWO/Zipgo-suspends-Bengaluru-operations-after-Karnataka-transpor.html" target="_blank">Livemint.com</a></h4>

ZipGo Technologies Pvt. Ltd has suspended operations in Bengaluru after the Karnataka state transport department raided its office on Wednesday

India: Bus aggregator Zipgo suspends Bengaluru ops after Karnataka transport dept raids office

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India: Bus aggregator Zipgo suspends Bengaluru ops after Karnataka transport dept raids office

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