Non-peak hour fares should stay at the least 50% of the bottom fare, as per the rules issued by the Ministry of Street Transport and Highways on Tuesday, as per a TOI report.
State governments have been suggested to undertake the revised pointers inside three months. The ministry stated the intention is to stability affordability for commuters throughout high-demand durations whereas stopping predatory discounting practices by the aggregators.
States might be answerable for notifying the bottom fare for various kinds of autos, together with taxis, auto-rickshaws, and bike taxis. If a state has not but specified a base fare, the aggregator might be required to declare the fare to the state authorities, as per the TOI report. As an illustration, the bottom fare for taxis is round Rs 20-21 per km in Delhi and Mumbai, whereas it's Rs 18 in Pune.
By way of experience cancellations, the ministry has launched a penalty of 10% of the fare, with a cap of Rs 100, for drivers who cancel rides with out specified causes after accepting them on the app.
The penalty might be shared between the driving force and the aggregator. An identical cost will apply to passengers who cancel booked rides.The revised guidelines additionally make insurance coverage protection obligatory for all drivers affiliated with aggregators. Every driver should be supplied with a medical insurance cowl of Rs 5 lakh and a time period insurance coverage coverage of Rs 10 lakh.The ministry has clarified that lifeless mileage fees, for the space a driver travels earlier than selecting up a passenger, won't be levied except the pick-up distance is lower than 3 km. In such instances, fare might be utilized from the purpose of departure.
For enhanced passenger security, aggregators should set up automobile location and monitoring units (VLTDs) and be sure that the information is shared with the aggregator's system and linked to the state's built-in command and management centres.
To take care of service high quality, aggregators are required to conduct annual refresher coaching for all drivers. Furthermore, drivers whose rankings fall under the underside 5 percentile, based mostly on their tenure with the aggregator, should attend quarterly refresher programs. Drivers who fail to conform might be barred from working by way of the aggregator platform.
(With inputs from TOI)
