Punjab CM clears mist over ride sharing cab firms

Body to propose legal framework within 15 days

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had to intervene to clear the confusion in government departments after the provincial government moved to bring operations of the popular ride-sharing mobile applications — Uber, Careem, A-One, etc — in the metropolis as under the tax net.

In this regard, the chief minister chaired a meeting of the departments concerned and decided to form a four-member committee comprising the transport secretary, Lahore Transport Company chief executive officer and chief traffic officer Lahore to be led by Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Umer Saif.

The committee has been tasked to propose a legal framework to govern the android-based companies in 15 days. It intends to propose a new taxation regime under the transport department that is said to be a blend of commercial and private vehicle taxation regimes.

The chief minister, during the meeting, appreciated the affordable transport facility being provided to people by the android-based applications; however, he expressed his anguish regarding delay in devising a taxation and legal framework.

According to a senior government official, the chief minister was conveyed concerns regarding the driving licence data that was being shared by the PITB with one of the android-based applications.

“Concerns are also raised regarding the recent document that surfaced in the media declaring these taxi schemes illegal,” adding, “the government never intends to ban these services, but wants to bring them in the tax net and under a legal framework.”

The official alleged that the document was leaked by someone in the government to push the bureaucracy on the back foot.

He said letters were written to the android-based applications to provide their data to the Punjab Provincial Transport Authority in 2016 (a copy of which is also available with The Express Tribune).

“Government departments have longstanding concerns about the ungoverned and unchecked operations of these taxi services,” he said, adding, “Tuesday’s episode is a proof of that, when one government department was declaring them illegal and another office declaring the notification an internal document.”

Acting Punjab Information Secretary Raja Jahangir told The Express Tribune that the chief minister has ordered the transport secretary to approach both Uber and Careem companies yet again in a few days.

PITB Chairman Umer Saif said the driving licence data was shared with the companies for a reason. “This is done as a security measure to allow these companies to verify the information of a driver beforehand.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2017.