What is Motor vehicle agreement scheme for Ola, Uber?

The government has laid down various procedures pertaining to conditions for car aggregators putting a cap on surge pricing in the motor vehicle agreement scheme for ola and uber. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued 26-page guidelines under Motor Vehicle Act,2019.

Ola Cabs is based in Bengaluru and Uber is based in the US. This guideline regulates the framework for the aggregators by the state government and they are responsible for their operations. The guidelines docility for both aggregators and the drivers pertaining to conditions for grant licence, eligibility, pricing to an aggregator, safety etc.

Why these guidelines are required?

In the Motor Vehicle Act(2019), the government provided that aggregators are required to follow the rules ahead as per safety precautions, the respective state government and state follow the guidelines by the centre.

Ola and Uber Agreement Scheme

The regulations define cab aggregators as digital mediators for passengers to connect with drivers for the intent of transportation. The aggregators have been asked to ensure that every driver is provided with health insurance not less than the amount of Rs. 5 lakhs with the base year 2020-21 and will increase by 5% every year and additionally, term insurance of Rs. 10 lakhs must be provided to every driver.

The aggregators will need to arrange a compulsory '5-day Refresher Training Programme' for the drivers once a year, which will have to be done at the time of induction, including topics as provisions of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, efficient use of the app, careful driving, on-road safety, motor vehicle maintenance, gender sensitization, terms and conditions with the aggregators, first-responder training, etc.

What are the new terms in the app?

The aggregators will need to make its app accessible in English and Hindi as primary languages and riders can use relevant state language and one official language, where the official language is not Hindi. The app will have to be accessible in a language that is easy for the driver.

In terms of data generated on the app, the aggregators will have to store the data on the server in India. The data will need to be stored minimum for 3 months and a maximum for 2 years from the date it will be generated. The stored data will also be made available to the state government.

The guideline detailed that any data related to customers shall not be disclosed without any written consent of the customers.

What are the Changes for the Customers?

The cancellation fee is capped at 10 per cent of the total fare, not exceeding Rs. 100 for both users and the drivers. The aggregators are allowed to charge fares that are up to 50 per cent lower than the base fare. The fare will be divided in a ratio of 80 per cent to 20 per cent from drivers to aggregators respectively.

The aggregators have been allowed the pooling facilities to customers, whose KYC information and details are available. The women passenger who is seeking pooling rides aggregators will make sure that the pool option will be available with women only.

Ride-hailing aggregators Uber and Ola in COVID-19 guidelines provide mandatory changes. All the drivers, delivery workers and riders wear face masks, require that vehicles be sanitised after every ride and make sure that the customers also wear a mask.

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