Bengaluru police forbids Ola, Uber from using alternate routes to airport

This comes days after an Ola driver dumped a 32-year-old woman on the BK Halli-Bagalur road, which is the alternate route often taken to and from Bengaluru airport.
Bengaluru police forbids Ola, Uber from using alternate routes to airport
Bengaluru police forbids Ola, Uber from using alternate routes to airport
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The Bengaluru police have issued an advisory to all cab aggregators that alternate routes to the Kempegowda International Airport must not be taken by its drivers between 7 pm and 7 am.

The advisory was issued on Friday, days after an Ola driver dumped a 32-year-old woman on the BK Halli-Bagalur road. The woman had pressed the emergency button as she realized that the driver was taking the alternate road, which has no street lights. The driver allegedly refused to call his supervisor and Ola allegedly took two hours to respond to her calls for help.

The police arrested the Ola cab driver on Thursday, after the victim filed a complaint with the International Airport Police on Monday.

Speaking to TNM, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said, “That road has not yet been illuminated. We have issued an advisory to all cab aggregators that alternate routes cannot be taken to KIA between 7 pm and 7 am.”

He further stated that in case of non-compliance, the Bengaluru Police would prepare a document to the effect that the said cab aggregators have violated norms pertaining to passenger safety and thereby cancel their trade license.

“We have issued a strict advisory that all measures to ensure passenger safety must be complied with. If they don’t, we will cancel their license,” he said.

“That road is not safe currently and it cannot be used unless it is marked safe. So many warnings have been issued but drivers continue to take this route. We will take strict action if the advisory is not adhered to,” he added.

In a statement, Ola said that all driver-partners have been instructed not to take alternate routes to KIA. 

"As per the advisory issued by the authorities, we have issued strict instructions to all driver-partners to access the city only through the toll-road; any deviations will lead to immediate termination from the platform,” Ola’s statement reads.

The alternate BK Halli-Bagalur is often opted for by cab drivers instead of the NH44 road as this alternate road allows them to reach the airport quicker from areas like Whitefield. Additionally, drivers choose this road to avoid paying the toll on NH44. However, the road has been flagged by users as unsafe. 

In July this year, an event manager from Kolkata, Pooja Singh Dey, was allegedly killed by an Ola cab driver while she was travelling to the airport. The driver had allegedly murdered her after he attempted to rob her.

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