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Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS) To bring in more discipline, transparency and passenger safety in app-based transport services including Ola, Uber and Rapido, the Maharashtra government on Friday issued “Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Aggregator Rules, 2025 and Maharashtra Bike-Taxi Rules, 2025”.
The state government proposes to set new standards for all these app-based transport services.
State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said that the state government has sought objections and suggestions from the people till October 17 and after that these draft rules will come into effect.
“These new rules will make the relationship between aggregator companies, drivers and passengers more transparent and will bring significant changes in terms of fares, quality of service, driver rights and passenger safety. These rules will be applicable to all passenger motor vehicle aggregators including e-rickshaws, Ola and Uber. Apart from this, a separate “Maharashtra Bike-Taxi Rules, 2025” will be applicable for bike-taxi services and a separate license will have to be obtained for the same,” the minister said. Sarnaik said.
According to these rules, the state transport authority (per district) will issue a license for Rs 10,00,000 and renewal of license will be for Rs 25,000 and the regional transport authority (per district) will charge Rs 2,00,000 for issuing a license and Rs 5,000 for renewal, the government statement said.
Additionally, the aggregator has to pay security deposit as per the number of vehicles. Number of vehicles up to 100 buses or 1,000 vehicles – Security Deposit – Rs 10 lakh, Number of vehicles up to 1,000 buses or 10,000 vehicles – Security Deposit – Rs 25 lakh and Number of Vehicles: more than 1,000 buses or 10,000 vehicles – Security Deposit – Rs 50 lakh.”
Under these rules, the state government has proposed fare regulation, under which if the demand increases, the app can increase the fare, but it should not be more than two and a half times the base fare determined by the Regional Transport Authority.
Even if the demand decreases, the fare cannot be kept less than 25 percent of the basic rate.
The convenience fee charged from the rider should not exceed 5 percent of the basic fare and the total deduction should not exceed 10 percent of the basic fare.
As far as working hours are concerned, a driver can stay logged into the app for a maximum of 12 hours in a day.
After this the driver will have to rest for at least 10 hours.
Drivers must complete a 30-hour motivational training program before joining the aggregator.
If a driver’s average rating is less than two stars out of five, he or she will have to undergo remedial training and will be removed from the app until then.
The app should mandatorily have the option for passengers to avail travel insurance up to Rs 5 lakh.
Autorickshaws and motor-cabs should not be more than nine years old from the date of registration and for buses it should not be more than eight years.
According to these rules, the app should be available in Marathi, Hindi and English languages.
The app should be designed in such a way that the driver does not see the passenger’s destination before accepting the ride.
The app should provide the passenger the facility to share live location and view journey status.
Special facilities will be mandatory for disabled passengers.
–IANS
SJ/KHz