New Delhi, September 16: The Road Transport Ministry has drafted basic guidelines for ride-sharing by private car owners, which will require KYC for users and limit the maximum number of rides taken per day to four, according to an Economic Times report. The draft will go for public comments soon. Surge Pricing by Cab Aggregators: Centre May Allow Ola And Uber to Charge Up to Three Times Base Fare During High Demand.

The intention of the centre is to see that carpooling is done on a no-profit and no-loss basis and the states get some revenue from the model. According to the guidelines, pooling will be allowed only through mobile-apps. In addition this, the aggregators will have to ensure that the KYC-for both the vehicle owner and the riders is complete. Before the trip starts, the vehicle owner will have to declare trip details.

The report mentions that existing carpooling services such as Quick Ride and BlaBlaCar will need to tweak their applications to meet the new requirements. However, Ola and Uber will need to develop a separate platform to allow pooling by private vehicle owners. The existing set up will not fall under the new guidelines.

In addition to the above, the Centre may allow online cab aggregators to charge customers up to three times the base fare as surge pricing during high demand.  The proposed rules for cab aggregators follows the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, cleared by the Rajya Sabha, which for the first time recognises cab aggregators as digital intermediaries or marketplaces. Earlier, the rules did not recognise cab aggregators as separate entities, causing firms such as Uber and Ola to operate in a grey zone. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, did not recognise cab aggregators as a separate entity.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2019 08:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).