BENGALURU: The state government has brought taxi aggregators under the ambit of Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act as recommended by the Union Transport Ministry. The government will soon issue a draft notification in this connection in the gazette.
Transport Commissioner B Ramegowda told Express that the Law Department has vetted the move on reigning in taxi aggregators and it has been okayed by the state government. “A draft notification will be issued by the government in the gazette within a week’s time. The public would be given a month’s time to file their objections,” he added.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy confirmed the approval given by the state government.
It may be recalled that the Centre had issued directives to all the state governments in April 2015 pressing for the move. Taxi aggregators had been opposing all steps to bring them under the section for quite some time saying that they were not the owners of the cabs and could not be held accountable for any incidents involving the vehicles.
“There are many rules which the aggregators will need to abide by. The need to obtain a licence for operation of services and mandatorily providing a bank guarantee figure are among them,” the commissioner said. It would be mandatory for cab aggregators to verify the antecedents of the driver, he added.
According to the draft directive by the Transport Ministry, aggregators need to renew their license every three years and the transport authorities will have the right to suspend their licenses for three months in case of any lapses. The draft also makes it mandatory for aggregators to provide bank details and police verification for all their drivers. Residential proof of drivers along with contact details and addresses of family members are also a must with a thorough background check.
Traffic and transportation expert M N Sreehari said it is important that such guidelines are in place as the confidence of the public in such modes of transport will get boosted. “This will bring about an accountability so that untoward incidents can be avoided in future,” he said.
It is very important to have a database in place so that it ensures safety for all, Sreehari added.