‘Aggregator fleets must make EV switch by April ’30’

NEW DELHI: As part of its Delhi Motor Vehicles Aggregators Scheme, 2022, the Delhi government has proposed April 1, 2030, as the cut-off date for vehicle aggregators in the cab, food and e-commerce delivery segments to convert their entire fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) in order to operate in the city.

The state transport department shared the draft policy on Tuesday for seeking comments from the public. Residents of the city can send their suggestions till three weeks from Tuesday, after which it will be formally notified by the government.

The policy, seen by HT, says cab aggregators will have to apply for a licence to operate in Delhi, register their drivers with the government, and set up easily accessible customer care channels.

To regulate fares, the policy proposes that the government fix

a base fare and set the maximum surge pricing to be the double of the base fare. Currently, the government has no control over the fares, and there is no limit to how high they may go when surge pricing is applied.

Estimates with the state transport department show that Delhi has at least 150,000 vehicles plying under different cab aggregators, but it is mostly a floating number as these vehicles keep moving between Delhi and NCR

cities.

Continuing its aggressive push to promote EVs, the Delhi government intends to mandate all cab aggregators and companies with delivery partners to ensure 5% to 100% of their new fleet of two-wheelers, three-wheelers or four-wheelers are electric vehicles (EVs) in phases within six months to four years from the date of notification of the policy.

The cut-off date from when such aggregator and delivery companies will have to start paying a penalty for failing to meet the EV conversion target has been decided as April 1, 2030, according to the draft policy.

“The aggregator shall not be able to register any new-onboarded vehicle, unless the aggregator meets the minimum EV fleet requirement. In instances where the aggregator is operating/managing a fleet of conventional vehicles in NCT of Delhi post April 1, 2030, the aggregator shall be liable to pay a monetary fine of ₹50,000 per vehicle,” says the draft policy.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said Delhi will be the first state to mandate electric vehicle fleets for ride aggregators and delivery services. “Currently, there is no accountability on the part of the cab aggregators as there are no rules for them. Our aim is to maximise the safety of users and ensure ease of doing business for such aggregator companies, while also making them more responsible as stakeholders in public transportation,” he said.

Once the policy is notified, all cab aggregators who have offices in India, and run a fleet of over 25 vehicles, will have to mandatorily get a licence from the state transport department, failing which a fine of at least ₹25,000 per vehicle will be charged, the policy says.

To ensure safety of passengers and the drivers, the policy proposes that all driver partners, even if they work for multiple aggregator companies, will have to be registered with the government, failing which fines will be imposed on the company. It proposes taking “appropriate action” against a driver partner within one month if there are 15% or more grievances against him/her. The policy says remedial training should be given to drivers having a rating less than 3.5 over the course of a year.

Aggregators and delivery services did not respond to requests for comments on the matter.