Uber, Ola can’t have their own way! Have to follow rules laid for radio cabs

Taxis cannot work as per their old ways anymore! The government would soon finalise a mechanism for taxi hailing apps such as Uber and Ola. The mechanism would include setting up of call centres and permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) in cars instead of a mobile phone device.

The government would also devise a mechanism to control the maximum price to be charged by these operators. Thus, Ola and Uber may have to soon conform to such rules framed for radio taxi operators.
The road ministry has already classified these services as transport aggregators and wants such apps to follow all rules laid down for any other cab operator under the Motor Vehicles Act, officials said.
"The regulatory architecture for a cab should apply to Uber as well," a senior official told the Economic Times, adding that these apps are like any other taxi provider. The ministry had issued a draft advisory of dos and don'ts to the states on dealing with the app-based taxi services earlier this month.
However, after receiving feedback from state governments, including Delhi on the advisory, it will issue a final note after two weeks to the states, the official said.
The government is also evaluating whether it should do away with the "minimum price" benchmark followed by radio taxis in some states. The taxi apps have been able to take advantage by offering cheaper fares and free rides, much to the dismay of radio taxis, which often follow a minimum floor price.
"The states are empowered to draft these rules under the Motor Vehicles Act. The radio taxi scheme is therefore practised in many states but we are telling them to think twice before taking any step which throttles competition," the official said. The apps, according to officials, come within the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act under Section 93 for soliciting services for transport.
This section empowers the state government to set rules under the contract carriage permit which covers cabs, buses and autorickshaws. The ministry in its proposed draft road safety bill has also included and defined the term 'aggregators' to bring the IT-enabled apps under the legal framework of the proposed legislation which has been sent for cabinet approval.

(Image: Reuters)