Even as the Karnataka government put its foot down on Uber and Ola, the Telangana Gig And Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) has asked the Telangana government to bring out a legislation based on the Motor Vehicle Aggregators’ Guidelines introduced by the Centre.
Citing the examples of Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal, the association wanted the State government to introduce a legislation and frame rules to rein in the app-based vehicle-hailing companies.
“The Karnataka government is able to put Uber and Ola on notice on base fares because they enacted a law and brought in rules to regulate the app-based vehicle-hailing companies,” Shaik Salauddin, the President of Telangana Gig And Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), told businessline.
“The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines, 2020, to regulate the cab aggregator market,” he said.
“The guidelines provide for amendment of the Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The Guidelines will serve as a guiding framework for State governments. Therefore, State governments whenever issuing the license to any cab aggregator may allude to the guidelines,” he said.
The association submitted a memorandum to the State government, appealing it to take a call on introducing a legislation immediately.
The guidelines stipulated norms for the aggregators to obtain a licence and regulate the fare.
“The base fare of a trip would be on the basis of city taxi fare as indexed in WPI. It capped the surge pricing at 1.5 times the base fare, while minimum price chargeable has been capped at 50 per cent off of the base fare,” the association said.
The guidelines have also capped the share of aggregators at 20 per cent, while the driver of the vehicle must receive 80 per cent of the total fare. “The Karnataka government is able to make companies like Ola and Uber accountable for their actions and making sure that they follow the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016,” he pointed out.
