Govt allows cab aggregators to charges drivers 20 percent commission; surge pricing to 1.5 times of fare

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued fresh guidelines for the cab aggregators like Ola, Uber where it has capped the commission charges of these operators to 20 percent of the total fare. It has also put the cap on the surge pricing to 1.5 times of the base fare.

The key highlights

• The Aggregator shall be permitted to charge a fare 50 percent lower than the base fare and a maximum surge pricing of 1.5 times the base fare specified.

• The Driver of a vehicle integrated with the Aggregator shall receive at least 80 percent of the fare applicable on each ride and the remaining charges for each ride shall be received by the Aggregator.

• The State Government may, by way of a notification, direct two percent over and above the fare towards the state exchequer for amenities and programmes related for Aggregator-operated vehicles, which have been helpful in reducing traffic congestion to a great extent and subsequently reducing pollution.

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• In states where the city taxi fare has not been determined by the State Government, an amount of Rs 25/30 shall be the base fare for the purposes of fare regulation.

• Ensuring a health insurance for each driver integrated with the Aggregator for an amount not less than Rs 5 lakh with base year 2020-21 and increased by five percent each year.

• Ensuring a term insurance for each driver integrated with the Aggregator for an amount not less than Rs 10 lakh with base year 2020-21 and increase by five percent each year.

• Conducting a refresher training programme once a year.

• Ensuring that the driver shall not be logged in for an aggregate of 12 hours on a calendar day. A mandatory break of 10 hours for the Driver shall be imposed subsequent to a login extending 12 hours.

• The Aggregators to develop a mechanism on their respective App to ensure that Drivers engaged with more than one Aggregator do not drive beyond a cumulative period of 12 hours either on their or another Aggregators App so as to safeguard the Driver, passenger as well as road users.