Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday announced that it would comply with the Central advisory to ban web-based taxi services after a woman passenger was raped by an Uber cab driver in New Delhi recently.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, speaking to sources on Wednesday said: “We received a fax in the afternoon from the Centre asking us to ban Uber services if it is not registered with the State government. From Thursday we will be banning the services if it is not registered.”

No extension of time will be given to Uber services for registering with the State government, the minister added. The Home Ministry has advised the state governments and Union territories to ensure that operations of web-based taxi services are stopped and such service providers which are not licensed are prohibited to operate till they get themselves registered.

Reddy, however, said prohibiting web-based taxi services is not the solution to problems related to sexual assault against women. “Also, the decision to ban the service will not stand legal scrutiny. We will inform the Centre about it,” he told sources.

Reddy said the State government will tighten the rules to operate taxies. The transport and home departments have made it mandatory for all taxi operators to obtain permissions by registering their services. About two dozen conditions have been laid down by the department to issue a permit, including police verification of the driver, Reddy added.