New Delhi rejects licence applications of taxi firms Uber, Ola

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - New Delhi's transport authority on Wednesday rejected the licence applications of U.S.-based taxi company Uber and its local rival Ola, citing violation of ban orders imposed by the government last year.

India asked unregistered web-based taxi services to halt operations in December after a driver contracted with Uber was accused of rape. Both Uber and Ola applied for licences in New Delhi but kept operating while approvals were pending.

In March, New Delhi asked the companies to stop if they want their licenses to be processed. The applications were rejected on Wednesday because the companies failed to comply, transport official S. Biswas Roy told Reuters.

"They will have to resubmit (new) licence applications now," Roy said.

"We will still insist they comply with the ban order first, otherwise they can go to the court," he said.

A spokesman for Ola, which is backed by Japan's SoftBank Corp, declined to comment. Uber said the license rejection was 'unfortunate'.

It was still possible to book a taxi using mobile applications of Uber or Ola in New Delhi late on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, a driver contracted with Uber was arrested near New Delhi after a woman passenger accused him of sexual harassment when she hailed his cab. The driver was later released on bail.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)