Cab Aggregators' Surge Pricing To Be Capped At Thrice The Base Fare With Riders

The government may limit surge pricing by cab aggregators including Ola and Uber to thrice the base fare with some riders, while retaining their commission at approximately 20%. Further as told to the leading business daily by a government official privy to the development, surge pricing will be prohibited to some specific times of the day and the total number of rides or hours when it applies may also be capped.

Cab Aggregators' Surge Pricing To Be Capped At Thrice The Base Fare With Riders

Surge pricing leads to increase in fare when the demand is on the higher side And with no transparency in the system, it gets troublesome for customers of cab aggregators.

"On the issue of surge pricing, it is likely to be capped at thrice the base price but it has to be decided at what hours of the day it will apply," said. the official.

In 2016 the ministry of road transport and highways had issued the new rules that were based on the taxi policy guidelines framed by a committee. Accordingly, the panel suggested that range bound dynamic pricing be allowed for effectively matching demand and supply.

Further the committee recommended in order to spur the availability of taxis during night time, the maximum fare of up to four times the base fare or minimum tariff be allowed between 12 am and 5 am.

The government could allow cab aggregator companies to retain their commission at 20%, while the rest 80% of the fare would go to cab drivers. "States may then levy some charge on the aggregator's commission if they want to," the official said.

The revised rule may require cab aggregators to establish a dispute redressal mechanism like creating a helpline number for registering consumer complaints.

We also have criteria related to cleanliness and maintenance of the cars being used by aggregators," the official said.

Also it has been proposed that charges should be levied on drivers in a case when they cancel a ride without giving any reason. We have introduced periodic selfie-verification through the day to ensure that the authorised driver is driving the cab," the official said.

The guidelines have been reviewed by the committee and the final approval is being awaited for, said the second official.

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