New Delhi: The Central Road Transport and Highways Ministry has created a new set of Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines for approval of cab aggregators like Ola, Uber, Rapido, or InDrive, among others.
These guidelines have come into effect since July 1, and all states have been asked to implement them over the next 3 months.Â
The app cab aggregators have been permitted to raise their base fare maximum up to 200% during peak demand hours. Earlier, the maximum cap was at 150%. However, there have been restrictions on drivers unnecessarily cancelling trips. This remains a sore issue with most passengers. If trips are cancelled without any valid reason, the driver has to pay a fine of 10% of the actual fare that was supposed to be incurred for the trip. This amount of fine will, however, not exceed Rs 100 for the drivers. The same guidelines on cancellation and fines will be applicable to the passengers, too.
The government guidelines rationalise that revised guidelines could help the app cab aggregators to design fares better in case of high demand. At the same time, it will now be possible to control these aggregators better by understanding a fixed fare setting and management regime.
However, many commuters feel these guidelines could increase the financial burdens on them. In fact, many states have appealed to the Center to create guidelines that could restrict the app cab aggregators from going haywire on fares.
More consultations and further revisions are expected on the guidelines following this.
