The Road Transport and Highways Ministry wants public transport aggregators like Ola and Uber to give drivers 80 per cent of the fare, capping their commission at 20 per cent.

Issuing comprehensive guidelines for aggregators of taxis, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers and other vehicles, the Ministry tied the fares  to the Wholesale Price Index. 

The fare indexed  to WPI  will be the base fare  for a minimum of 3 km.  A maximum surge pricing of 1.5 times the base fare is allowed. In case there are no city guidelines, ₹25-30 shall be the base fare. The State Government may directly charge two per cent over and above the fare.

The decision to implement these guidelines rests with the States.

When contacted, Ola and Uber  said they are still studying the guidelines.

Besides fares, the guidelines also prescribed norms for an aggregator.  The aggregator has to start operations six months from the grant of the licence,  failing which the licence shall be cancelled. It has to arrange by itself or through a third party a driving test facility with a simulator.

A driver should have two years experience and if he does not,  the aggregator  must provide 15-day training.

For driver welfare, besides the health insurance aggregators have to provide a term insurance for each driver for not less than ₹10 lakh with base year 2020-21 and increase by 5 per cent annually.

A maximum of four ride-sharing intra-city trips a day and a maximum of two ride-sharing inter-city trips per week shall be permitted for each vehicle with the driver. Such vehicles shall obtain an insurance of at least ₹5 lakh for the ride-sharers in the vehicle, other than the owner or driver integrated with the aggregator.

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