The Government has decided to take a stand against the errant app cab drivers. In a move to regulate the app cabs the parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Amendments) Bill allowing the center to regulate the likes of Ola and Uber. The Indian government’s focus is on passenger’s safety, comfort, and to take care of certain women safety matters along with the control of surge pricing.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising said that internet-based taxi service aggregators like Uber and Ola were “unregulated” and operating in “vacuum” with no regulations. She said that the online taxi service was not monitoring the safety and security of women in vehicles and made passengers, especially women to face incidents like rape, and this has been the concern for the government.
Why the transport department is not regulating these internet app-based taxi services? They (department) are not regulating as to whether these taxis have GPS or not – Indira Jaising, Senior advocate
The new bill now requires the approval of the president to become law since both the houses have approved it.
We will continue to support the government’s vision to harness technology for shared mobility and safety – Uber spokesperson
In approval of the president, the new law would definitely provide more control over the plans of the government. It would also include penalty between INR 25K and INR 1 Lakh for violating licensing conditions. The new law would also introduce regulations for safety, pricing, reducing road accident fatalities, penalties for violations, anti-corruption initiatives.
Currently, every state has its isolated law to regulate app-based cab services with different guidelines. States like Delhi and Gujarat have stricter safety and pricing rules due to incidents that have threatened the passengers.
