The app based Taxi/cab service providers would now have to play fair to their customers as the Union cabinet as well as the Delhi High Court came forward to put regulations over pricing.
Taxis which are running as tourist taxis would have to take aggregators licence and follow the city-taxi rules as per the new motor vehicle law approved by the Union cabinet. The taxi service providers would also have to stick to the state laws. India has a 60 crore taxi/cab business but surprisingly only 5% of them are with aggregators.
Looking over the matter of surge pricing, a uniform policy must be devised. Recently, Delhi HC has fixed the deadline of August 22 after which Uber could not charge more than the fixed rates stipulated by the Delhi Government. Ola claimed that it has already stopped charging more.
{Surge pricing is a condition when the fare automatically increases when the demand for the cabs is higher than the number of drivers available. The customer ready to pay a little higher amount would be availed with the facility.} This would seek an insight of other state governments to look into the terms and conditions of the app-based taxi providers.
A special committee has also been directed to be formed by the centre to look into the matters pertaining to issuing licences and permits to the taxi service providers and cab aggregators. Senior officers of Central pollution control Board, Ministry of Information technology, NITI Ayog and Delhi traffic Police must be included in it.
The step of new motor vehicle law has been taken looking at the companies like Ola and Uber which are been criticized in the country for their faulty terms and conditions. Such terms have recently led to ban of Ola and Uber in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The provisions of the new law are as follows:
- Aggregators licence to be taken to run a city taxi.
- Compliance with the state rules.
- Deep discounting to be curbed. Maximum Retail price (MRP) to be fixed. The competiotion commission of India would interrupt if prices offered are less than MRP.
- Fares per km cannot be charged more than the government fixed fares.
- Surge pricing to be discontinued.