Taxi aggregators witness a surge in issues

Travellers seem to be in for a rough ride with complaints against taxi aggregators in Delhi on the rise. Complaints against taxi aggregators is rising at other places in the country too. It was only recently that the Delhi Government, based on overcharging complaints, cracked the whip. Overcharging, claimed to have been done under the premise of surge pricing, was experienced by travellers in Delhi during the second odd-even traffic scheme implementation. Said to be capable of adversely affecting the business model of aggregators, it was the only way, claimed industry sources, to attract drivers in case of a demand supply mismatch. Karnataka capped the fares of aggregators, using provisions in the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988, to get companies like Ola and Uber, who have registered with the transport department, to obtain licence under Section 93 of MV Act, 1988. This would provide for licensing of agents that solicit customers for public service vehicles. The aggregators, unlike conventional taxi services, do not own vehicles, but provide an online market place to drivers and customers. They were brought under the purview of the Information Technology Act, 2015. The local administration in the Salt Lake area of West Bengal came out with regulations that bring drivers under the MV Act and the companies under the IT Act. With advancement of technology and fast changing urban lifestyle, cab business has seen unprecedented growth in the last one decade. It is already valued between USD six billion and USD nine billion.