The government’s Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines released final week limiting the surge pricing to 1.5 instances of the base fare by cab-hailing providers like Ola and Uber and up to Rs one hundred penalty if the driver cancels ride have located resonance with consumers. According to a survey by neighborhood social media platform LocalCircles, 81 per cent of the 16,000 respondents supported the move by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways even though 15 per cent didn’t approve the measures, and the remaining 4 per cent have been without the need of opinion. The respondents belonged to 219 districts in India.
The ‘aggregator’ marketplace largely controlled by Ola and Uber, according to the rule, is now permitted to charge a fare “50% lower than the base fare,” according to the recommendations. The government stated that the guidelines will “promote asset utilisation which has been the fundamental concept of transport aggregation and also substantiate the dynamic pricing principle, which is pertinent in ensuring asset utilisation in accordance with the market forces of demand and supply.” In terms of the cancellation penalty, the charges capped at 10 per cent of the total fare not exceeding Rs one hundred are applicable on consumers as effectively who cancel rides immediately after booking the request.
Also study: Paytm Japan: Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s PayPay is now country’s 5th top app as user base grows 150% YoY
To assure much better earnings for drivers, the guidelines had maintained drivers ought to get at least 80 per cent of the fare applicable on each and every ride and the rest ought to go to the business. The government also stated that states may perhaps “by way of a notification direct 2 per cent 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.”
The guidelines, which may well effect Ola, Uber, and other related companies in terms of earnings in the brief term, have come about the time when such companies are facing Covid headwinds in recovering their operations. From about 68 million cab rides by consumers in January this year, which came to a comprehensive halt for the duration of the lockdown, enhanced to only about 30 million in October for platforms such as Ola and Uber, according to the RedSeer information. This is up from about 15 million rides in September.