The Delhi government is planning to bring in a regulatory policy that promises to curb surge pricing by Ola, Uber and also ensure several safety measures that provides Rs 25,000 fine for such violations.
The draft "Licencing and Regulation of App-based Aggregators Rules, 2017" and the City Taxi Scheme, 2017 are being evaluated by a panel headed by PWD minister S Jain. The panel is expected to finalise the policies as early as possible and send them to the Delhi cabinet for approval.
"Cab services are an important means of transportation in a growing city and a large number of commuters are now using taxis through app-based aggregators. There is an urgent need to frame rules to regulate the operation of these cab services," said a transport department official.
As per the draft rules, the aggregator will have to file a police complaint if a case of molestation or misconduct is reported by the passenger. In case of failure, a fine of Rs 1 lakh will be levied.
Once the rules are implemented, the cabs of app-based aggregators would have to get a licence from the department to operate in Delhi. They would have to operate a 24x7 call centre and also share live GPS data of all cabs with the transport department's control centre. NCR taxis can be used by aggregators, provided their GPS feed is given to the transport department's control centre.
On surge pricing, aggregators would have to bear both maximum and minimum fares to be fixed by the transport department or face a fine of Rs 25,000 for each violation. The new policy says cabs would have to ply as contract carriage vehicles, which means they can't pick up and drop different passengers from multiple points.
The app must also have a 'panic button', which when pressed, will immediately alert the local police. A clear picture of the driver and the description of his vehicle has to be provided via the app. The cab should have a GPS display on a six inches screen that will show real-time location of the vehicle.
