Ola commences cab services from M'luru airport

Mangaluru: Amid a conflict between online taxi aggregators and the Airport Taxi operators over the pick-and-drop facility for passengers at the Mangaluru International airport, app-based taxi aggregator Ola got the go-ahead to commence its cab operations at the airport from Thursday.

The decision was taken on the basis of a Supreme Court directive, that app-based taxi service needs to be started at all international airports keeping in view the safety, convenience aspects of the passengers.

After inviting tenders from various aggregators, Ola was awarded the contract for a period of three years from November 19, 2018. Meanwhile, the contract of the existing pre-paid airport taxis too has been extended for three years.

Dakshina Kannada District Online Taxi Drivers and Owners Association honorary president B K Imthiyaz termed the start of Ola services from the airport as a victory for app-based taxi aggregators.

It may be recalled that on November 7, a clash had erupted between representatives of online taxi aggregators and the Airport Taxi operators near the exit road of the airport here and several people had sustained injuries in the incident.