Proposal: Maharashtra wants Ola, Uber etc. under MV Act

The Government of Maharashtra is considering amending the Motor Vehicles Act to bring web-based taxi aggregators under its ambit. The step is expected to affect the businesses of operators such as Uber, Ola and TaxiForSure among others.

The draft rules state "Aggregator" means a taxi service provider or an operator who acts as a digital intermediary for a passenger to connect with a driver, by means of a mobile phone/web application or through a call centre or by any other. A car cannot be hired through any aggregator who is not registered with the Transport Department.

The rules require the holder of a permit to fit a GPS / GPRS system that complies with government-specified conditions in the car. The vehicle has to run on clean fuel - petrol and CNG / LPG / Electricity / Hybrid. The licensee has to maintain a fleet of a minimum of 1,000 and a maximum 4,000 taxis either owned or through an agreement with individual taxi permit holders. A maximum of 2,500 permits will be issued to a licensee in the first phase.

The licensee is required to have a registered office in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and details of its headquarter including telephone number, e-mail ID and details of office in-charge have to be provided to the transport department at the time of application. The licensee has to maintain a web portal containing all details of its ownership, registered address, services offered, fare structure, insurance liabilities, control room number, name and contact details of a duly appointed grievance redressal officer.

The colour of the taxi has to be approved by the authorities. All advertisements on the car have to be in accordance with the guidelines issued by the authorities. The taxi should be replaced by a new vehicle on completion of 20 years or as may be decided by the authorities. 

The application for license have to be accompanied by a processing fee of Rs.1,00,000 in the form of a Demand Draft payable at Mumbai. A fee of Rs. 25,000 will be levied for each permit granted. If found eligible, license will be granted for a period of five years upon furnishing a bank guarantee of Rs. 50 lakh. A licence can be renewed for 5 years. For renewal, a fresh bank guarantee of Rs. 50 lakh has to be furnished. Renewal fees are set at Rs. 1 lakh.

The working hours of drivers will be limited to eight hours a day and not more than 48 hours in a week. For long distance rides it shall be no more than 10 hours and 54 hours in a week. Drivers should have a commercial vehicle licence and have to be in uniform.

Click here to read the full draft