Uber calls on citizens of India's Silicon Valley to fight UberPOOL ban

Uber and its run-ins with local governments across the world are nothing new. But struggling to find a way around India’s archaic regulations, Uber has reached out to its customers for help.

The American ride-hailing service today filed a petition to urge the state government of Karnataka to revoke a ban on its ride-sharing services in the state.

Uber is seeking 50,000 people to sign the petition, and testify that that the city of Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, needs ride-sharing services. Nearly 10,000 people have already signed the petition at the time of writing.

The transportation department of Karnataka deemed ride-sharing offerings like Uber’s UberPOOL and its local competitor Ola’s Ola Share illegal in the state. Earlier this week, state officials issued a directive to both the companies ordering them to withdraw the pool-services from the state by today.

"As a Bangalore resident, you can make a difference by speaking up on how uberPOOL is making our city a better place to live in," Uber said today in a press statement.

Ride-hailing services also help curtail the number of cars on the roads, Uber said, claiming that UberPOOL alone has prevented more than 9,364,772 kilometres of unnecessary driving -- saving 4,40,623 litres of fuel and cutting over 1,037,000 kg of CO2 emissions while doing so.

"We’re excited for Bangalore to join other progressive cities around the world by embracing the benefits ride-sharing brings to cities, by working with the government of Karnataka," the statement adds.

According to Karnataka’s government, which has shown little interest in amending archaic regulations in the past, pool services from Uber and Ola violate contract carriage permit.

The age-old regulation restricts a cab from pickling up and dropping passengers during the course of a ride on a particular route. The government official said earlier this week that Uber and Ola could file a petition and further explain why pool-services should be allowed in the state.

"When a rider chooses UberPOOL through the Uber App, he/she consents to another person sharing the trip. There is a clear understanding between all the riders on the trip and the Driver Partner that the trip and the vehicle will be shared," an Uber spokesperson explained.

"The App also identifies all the riders and the Driver Partner. The law permits a contract carriage permit holder to stop to pick up or set down passengers who are included in the contractual understanding with the driver," the spokesperson said, adding that the company believes UberPool doesn’t violate the existing contract carriage permit.

In the meanwhile, ride-sharing services from both Ola and Uber will be operational in the city tomorrow, insiders told Mashable India.