Stuck between contract and stage carriage permits

to another without stopping to pick up or drop passengers not included in the contract. It does not allow hailing. Stage carriage allows hailing with vehicles stopping at designated places.

An executive of an app-based aggregator says that availability of passenger lists is not an issue with them. “We are a subscriptionbased business, so at any time in the journey it is known that who is boarding. The passenger list and from where they (passengers) are boarding are available. Besides, even in cases of school and company buses, they stop at designated places to allow boarding and deboarding,” he says.

The Delhi government is now planning to come up with two policies: One replacing the 2015 City Taxi Scheme, which, officials say, has not worked well. This policy will allow taxi aggregators to work under the contract carriage permit. In the case of pool taxis, where there is ride sharing, hiring by the first passenger will be considered as a contract. “This, however, cannot work in the case of buses,” says an official. A different policy for bus aggregators, therefore, is in the works.

The Delhi government will ask bus aggregators to work under the stage carriage permit. This, officials say, is required for the safety and uniformity of service. Besides specifying the kind of buses that are to be used, the companies will be asked to specify the number of buses plying under their platforms.

The state is planning to carve out routes and put them on offer, ensuring in the process that there is no excessive competition. Pricing services will also be regulated and capped, which is where the companies may not be comfortable with the stage carriage permit.

The proposed policy will not be in line with a Union government committee report on urban mobility that came out last year. The report calls for liberalising bus permits. “Just as All India Tourist Permit (AITP) taxis are being used by the app-based service providers, AITP/ contract buses should also be enabled and encouraged to provide services to the commuters on a shared basis through app-based aggregators,” says the report. The companies, on their part, say the law is behind the technology curve.