Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines 2020 issued under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988

Section 9. Compliances with regard to the Aggregator's App and Website: (...) 

 

6. Ensuring transparency in its operations, including but not limited to, functioning of the App algorithm, proportion of fare payable to the Driver; incentives given to the Drivers, charges received from the Driver and such other information as may be notified by the State Government, by making disclosures on the Aggregator's Website and App and updating such disclosures, as per requirement.

Section 12. Non-discrimination policy to be followed by the Aggregator: The Aggregator shall ensure that vehicles actually owned by the Aggregator are treated at parity with those vehicles which are not Aggregator owned, once such vehicles are integrated with the Aggregator.

Section 18. Appeal: 

 

1. The Aggregator aggrieved by any order passed by the Competent Authority may, within 30 days of receipt of the order, appeal to the State Government or such other agency as may be notified by the State Government. 

 

2. An appeal shall be in the form of a memorandum in duplicate setting forth the grounds for the appeal and shall be accompanied by the requisite fee and the certified copy of the order passed by the Competent Authority.

Section 13. Regulation of fares: 

 

1. The city taxi fare indexed by WPI for the current year shall be the base fare chargeable to customers availing Aggregator service 

 

2. The base minimum fare chargeable to customers availing Aggregator services shall be, for a minimum of 3 kilometres to compensate for dead mileage and distance travelled and fuel utilised for picking up the customers.

 

3. The Aggregator shall be permitted to charge a fare 50% lower than the base fare and a maximum Surge pricing of 1 .5 times the base fare specified under Clause 13 (1) hereinabove. This will enable and promote asset utilization which has been the fundamental concept of transport aggregation and also substantiate the dynamic pricing principle, which is pertinent in ensuring asset utilization in accordance with the market forces of demand and supply. 

 

4. The Driver of a vehicle integrated with the Aggregator shall receive at least 80% of the fare applicable on each ride and the remaining charges for each ride shall be received by the Aggregator. The State Government may by way of a notification direct 2% over and above the fare towards the state exchequer for amenities and programmes related for Aggregator operated vehicles, which have been helpful in reducing traffic congestion to a great extent and subsequently reducing pollution. These amenities and programmes may include but not be limited to, state sponsored driver welfare programmes, road safety awareness workshops and activities, pollution control programmes, allotment of parking spaces in certain proportion of large parking areas for vehicles integrated with an Aggregator, electric charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and related matters. 

 

5. ln states where the city taxi fare has not been determined by the State Government, an amount of Rs. 25/30 shall be the base fare for the purposes of fare regulation under this Clause 12. Similar fare fixation shall be done by the State Government of other vehicles integrated by Aggregators within the relevant State. 

 

6. For the purposes of motor cabs, fare regulation under this Clause shall only be applicable for motor cabs not exceeding 4 meters of length of below engine capacity of 1500cc diesel or petrol. Fare regulation provided under this Clause 13 shall not be applicable to electric vehicles. 

 

7. No passenger shall be charged for dead mileage (except when the distance for availing the ride is less than 3 kms as mentioned under Clause 13 (2) herein above and the fare shall be charged only from the point of boarding to the point of alighting.

Section 7. Compliances with regard to Drivers: (...)

 

2. The Aggregator shall ensure compliance with the following conditions, relevant to Drivers, during operations: (a) Ensuring a health insurance for each Driver integrated with the Aggregator for an amount not less than Rs. 5 Lakhs with base year 2020-21 and increased by 5% each year. (b) Ensuring a term insurance for each Driver integrated with the Aggregator for an amount not less than Rs. 10 Lakhs with base year 2020-21 and increase by 5% each year. (...)

Section 16. Suspension of Aggregator License: 

 

1. Suo moto or on a complaint made to the Competent Authority, subsequent to providing the Aggregator with an opportunity of being heard within fifteen (15) days from the date of such complaint or suo moto action, suspend the license for a period, by way of a reasoned order in writing, which shall not be less than 10 days and which shall not exceed 6 months at a time (“Suspension Order”) if – 

 

(a) there exists a systemic failure by the Aggregator to ensure safety of the Rider and/or the Driver and the same may be evidenced by an analysis of quarterly ratings with regard to the relevant parameter;

 

(b) there exist repetitive instances of financial inconsistencies with regard to the fares charged to Riders, unjustified imposition of surge pricing, non-compliance with the proportionate division of fares between the Drivers and the Aggregator, unsubstantiated imposition of charges on the Drivers, all of which may be determined by ratings and/or examination of the financial records pertaining to the Aggregator’s operations, in compliance with powers granted to the State Government under Clause 18 (1);

 

(c) the Aggregator fails to comply with the contractual obligations towards the Drivers;

 

(d) the Aggregator fails to comply with any of the requirements or conditions of these Guidelines amounting to minor, moderate or gross offences, as may be determined by the State Government. 

 

The following parameters may be considered by the State Government while categorising the offences of non-compliance with these Guidelines: 

 

(e) effect on health and safety of Riders and/or Drivers which may have been averted by complying with these Guidelines;

 

(f) number of deaths or severe injuries to Riders and/or Drivers caused due to violation of safety standards by the Aggregator;

 

(g) effect on Driver welfare and livelihood due to violation of contractual obligations;

 

(h) severity of financial swindling;

 

(i) and such other parameters as the State Governments may deem fit and appropriate. 

 

PROVIDED that where the Aggregator is liable to be suspended and the Competent Authority is of the opinion that having regard to the circumstances of the case it would not be necessary or expedient to suspend the License, the Aggregator may pay a sum as decided by the States. This is notwithstanding the fine imposed against the Aggregator under Section 193(2) (...) 

 

Section 17. Cancellation of Aggregator License: 

 

1. A showcause notice shall be issued to the Aggregator for cancellation of the Aggregator's License, if the Aggregator: (a) has received more than three (3) suspensions within one financial year; or (b) has failed to receive its License and NOC pursuant to a second examination of the Continuing Suspension Order; or (c) is responsible for the commission of a gross offence as categorized by the State Government under Clause 16(1)(d) above. 

 

2. The Competent Authority may within two (2) days of issuing the showcause notice provide an opportunity of hearing to the Aggregator and thereafter cancel the license. 

 

3. Where a license is cancelled, the Aggregator shall immediately stop all operations under the license. 

 

4. Without prejudice to an order of cancellation passed by the Competent Authority, the security provided by way of bank guarantee shall be forfeited in full. 

 

5. The Aggregator may, at any time, voluntarily surrender the license for cancellation. On such surrender of the license, the security by way of bank guarantee if any shall be returned to the Aggregator after the payment of outstanding dues if any.

 

7(2)(n) Section 7. Compliances with regard to Drivers: (...) (2) The Aggregator shall ensure compliance with the following conditions, relevant to Drivers, during operations: (...) (n) Ensuring that on termination or end of the Service Provider Contract with a Driver, all equipment or brand stickers belonging to the Aggregator is removed and identity card or authorization issued to the Driver by the Aggregator is confiscated.

 

7(2)(p) Section 7. Compliances with regard to Drivers: (...) (2) The Aggregator shall ensure compliance with the following conditions, relevant to Drivers, during operations: (...) (p) Further, Drivers with ratings below two (2) percentiles shall be required mandatorily to undertake the Remedial Training Programme until the completion of which such Driver shall be off-boarded.

Section 9. Compliances with regard to the Aggregator's App and Website: (...) 

 

4. Ensuring that the data generated on the App is stored on a server in India and that such stored data shall be for a minimum of 3 months and maximum of 24 months from the date on which such data is generated. This data shall be made available to the State Government as per due process of law. Any data related to customers shall not be disclosed without the written consent of the customer. 

 

5. Ensuring that the details of daily trips operated by each vehicle, details of passengers commuting in each vehicle, origin and destination of each journey undertaken and the fare collected, shall be undertaken by a Driver and Rider shall be accessible on the App for a period of three (3) months from the date of such trip. (...)

Section 7. Compliance with regard to Drivers: (...) 

 

2. The Aggregator shall ensure compliance with the following conditions, relevant to Drivers, during operations: (d) Ensuring that the Driver shall not be logged in for an aggregate of twelve (12) hours on a calendar day. A mandatory break of ten (10) hours for the Driver shall be imposed subsequent to a login extending twelve (12) hours. (e) The Aggregators to develop a mechanism on their respective App to ensure that Drivers engaged with more than one Aggregator do not drive beyond a cumulative period of 12 hours either on their or another Aggregator's App so as to safeguard the Driver, passenger as well as road users. (...)