[TusharK]

The government of Maharashtra has banned the use of non-transport vehicles for aggregation and car-pooling.



The government, citing road safety concerns has issued a government resolution (GR) on January 19, which bans the use of non-transport vehicles (white number plate) including 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers for car-pooling.

According to the GR, the use of non-transport vehicles for commercial purposes is on the rise, which has raised serious practical and security concerns for passengers. It also affects the economic viability of vehicles operating with valid permits.

The GR also states that if non-transport vehicles are to be permitted to be used for aggregation and car-pooling, it would require detailed consideration regarding terms and conditions, framework and guidelines.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP News

[grshnehete]

Does this mean ride sharing apps like sRide and BlaBlaCar are not allowed now?

[anup_ssharma]

Does this mean that apps like sRide will no longer be legal?

I am working in an IT MNC in Mumbai and sRide is used by majority of my colleagues for car pooling their privately registered cars.

[Sk8r]

Perhaps, strong lobby out there for Ola / Uber ? I'm from Chennai and QwikRide is a savior for daily commute

[Reinhard]

This particular state - continues to amuse me daily by its sheer lack of awareness about anything, in any field. GRs and directives, written like some school-play dialogues at best, is such a shame. Even children will think more before using such ambiguous and useless language in official paperwork.

At best - I hope the babus/ministers have simply missed thinking about the benefits of personal carpooling / apps like SRide etc & as usual there will be a shameless "clarification" some weeks later. At worst - they are unaware of the rest of the world that actually even makes carpooling lanes on freeways, to limit pollution, promote sharing of empty car seats.

Oh, and this is the same state in which pretty much every Activa runs on the wrong side of the road with at least 3 teenagers or drunk goons without license riding it. And - public transport is run only to create wealth for politicians and to sometimes also kill pedestrians and scooter riders.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Perhaps, strong lobby out there for Ola / Uber ? I'm from Chennai and QwikRide is a savior for daily commute

No doubt these apps are a boon. And car pooling is very sensible. But this brings me to another point upon which I ve asked questions in the past but have not got any answers.

The private car insurance does NOT cover taking passengers for any kind of commercial consideration.

As far as I know, Quickride awards some kind of points for each ride given and deducts some points for each ride taken. Points finally equals some rupee value. This is a commercial consideration.

Is there any clarity on the stance of Insurance companies on this kind of app based car pooling with this kind of commercial consideration?

[Bhargav7]

If a law does not make sense in the present day, it should be amended. Carpooling is the way to go, not just in India but worldwide. Instead of fixing a broken law, we propose to inconvenience the people and increase the traffic - absolutely makes no sense.

Regarding the security concerns for the passengers - I see no reason why carpooling has more risk than a taxi. If you pool with folks in your apartment/neighborhood, I see it as a safer practice than taxis.

[Zinger_Winger]

What is the purpose of this? Such asinine rules being created & for what? Is there a single shred of logic in this?

I personally know a couple of colleagues who use s-Ride to find fellow commuters/drivers travelling from Goregaon all the way to Shilphata, Dombivli, on a daily basis. Saves them money and all the hassles entailed with changing multiple trains, searching for auto-rickshaws etc., or getting a vehicle just for themselves for that long, traffic infested drive.
Will the government arrange for alternate transports for these folks or bring back Uber-pool and subsidize the cost of it?

The state slowly & surely is becoming a laughingstock.

[NiInJa]

I guess this is another successful attempt by taxi-for-hire and private bus operators to ensure their business is not hampered.

Try boarding an MSRTC bus between Mumbai-Pune and you will know how pathetic the service is. There is no real time tracking, no on-time arrival, no schedule that is adhered to and worst of all, the MSRTC site is non functional and the helpline number is useless. My relatives have been using blablacar to do Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Aurangabad runs and I think it is a good way forward, but the government has other plans I guess.

[Axe77]

Yesterday it took me 1 hr 25 mins to drive from Lower Parel to Parel. Simply crossing west to east. A home to office distance of less than 4 kms. I got notified THRICE on my Jeep app that my car has been idling in one place for more than 10 mins.

In a city where traffic is bursting at the seams, it seems obscene to pass a rule that prevents car pooling.

[libranof1987]

Quite unfortunate, but on expected lines.

I am immensely disappointed, especially having been a benefactor of this myself, and seeing the terrific extent of convenience, and comfort it brought about to people.

Taking the example of Pune; considering the sad state of public transport, and in the wake of several companies stopping their official transport, car pooling was a saviour for those working in tech parks. Not only could people travel together, thus saving space on the road and curbing pollution, it also helped people travel door-to-door comfortably, safely, at their convenience of time.

Several private office bus shuttles cropped up, and pre-pandemic, only one remained. No prizes for guessing which family owns that service. That bus service had also degraded year-on-year.

Less said the better about rickshaw-wallahs, especially considering Pune's IT parks are on extreme ends of the city.

Given the huge investment the State is doing in public transport, be it the Metro or electric buses, it was only a matter of time before they stopped the tap from leaking.

What is sad, but again, on expected lines, is that white-plate Ertigas / Xylos will continue to ferry people inter city on a seat-sharing basis, with no regard to safety, rules or human decency. And they'll pick up passengers right next to police stations. Just spend a few minutes at Wakad on Fri night / Sun morning to understand just how rampant it is.

All said and done, I do think car pooling will continue on almost the same level as it did earlier. Shortly after the WhatsApp, Telegram groups and apps such as Quickride and SRide became popular, most people had already formed their own groups and circles and often travelled together on a regular basis - which is one reason why car availability also suddenly dropped on these apps.

[amsidhu]

I wonder how will the ban enforced by the traffic cops, eg four separate individuals if they’ve entered into an unofficial agreement to share the pvt and pool in the expenses there is no distinguishing factor as they can always say we’re a group of friends, acquaintances and no money transactions are involved

[JoshMachine]

At its most fundamental plane, IMO, there are two schools of thought around the issue:-

1). Political - Auto and taxi unions forcing government to play this hand. These union guys are simply not able to scale upto the demand nor willing to do so. Knock on political doors, cry hoarse (vote bank) and voila:-



2). Societal - Lack of regulation/monitoring over prices & fares (market-based). Lack of safety/security of passengers ('what if' scenarios abound)



Given the history of how transport/commercial unions operate in MH state, I will vote for #1.

[WorkingGuru]

Instead of banning this, Govt should become a facilitator and bridge the gap being faced by aggregators, car/bike owners & riders.

This move proves Govts don't care about the environment if it comes to votebank politics. It also shows that disunited car owners must unite & pressure Govt to follow even the most basic rational demand which would be in public interest.

Originally Posted by amsidhu

I wonder how will the ban enforced by the traffic cops, eg four separate individuals if they’ve entered into an unofficial agreement to share the pvt and pool in the expenses there is no distinguishing factor as they can always say we’re a group of friends, acquaintances and no money transactions are involved

Online aggregators will not be allowed to bring together people who agree to share their commute.

Apps aggregate people who would pay an amount (viz actually equivalent to no more than a token of gratitude), to share a ride.

[Gansan]

The insurance policy of taxis and contract carriages will cover the passengers. The policy taken for private cars will definitely not cover fare paying passengers. Fare/consideration in whatever form. What happens if there is an accident and the ride sharing passenger is not covered? Worse still, what happens if the family of the passenger sues the car owner for damages and compensation?