Sangh affiliate wants Centre government to fix limits on surge-pricing for Ola, Uber

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 18

Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagaran Manch has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to fix surge-pricing limits for taxi aggregators under the Motor Vehicle Act 2019.

 "Just in the last two weeks, we received screen shots where a fare of Rs 2,000 was quoted in Mumbai for a six-minute ride. This is outrageous and plain profiteering by these platforms," SJM's Ashwani Mahajan said in a letter to Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. Taxi aggregators, including Uber and Ola, were profiteering under the ambit of surge pricing. “This is outrageous and plain profiteering by these platforms," Mahajan said.

"It is our request that taxi aggregator rules under the Motor Vehicle Act 2019 are made keeping the above public interest in mind. If that is not done, it would be an unpopular move and we may risk states coming up with their own rules and setting lower limits of surge pricing for taxi aggregators," he said in the letter, copies of which have also been marked to Prime Minister Modi, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Sitharaman.

The letter follows the Road Transport and Highway Ministry's decision to frame regulatory rules for app-based taxi aggregators under the Motor Vehicle Act 2019.

Their demands

*Surge pricing to be capped at not higher than 25% across the country.

*In case of ride cancellation by the taxi app company or the driver, Rs. 100 or an amount equivalent to 20 per cent of the fare should be credited in the customer’s account as a penalty.

*Currently the apps levy a penalty when a customer cancels a ride but the same doesn’t work the other way around.

*App taxis should not be permitted to apply surge pricing on advance/scheduled bookings.

*Basic customer service and app features must be standardised to facilitate speaking with customer service centre in case of an emergency/need.