Ola and Uber asked to calculate fares using taxi meters and not GPS

Online taxi aggregators in the country like Uber and Ola have been asked by the government to start calculating fares using taximeters rather than GPS as they are doing now, according to reports in Economic Times.

"Taxi aggregators are currently violating the law by measuring distance through GPS. The Motor Vehicles Act clearly says that they have to go by the taxi meter," said a road ministry official.

According to the transport ministry, the fares calculated through GPS are inaccurate and the black-and-yellow taxi rate card is better for consumers.

“We keep getting complaints of inaccuracies in the fare mechanism of these cab aggregators. We have told both Ola and Uber during the recent meetings that they have to fix this problem immediately,” added the official.

Recently, private taxi operators and autos in Delhi went on a three-day strike to oppose against these aggregators. They alleged that these aggregators were operating illegally and demanded to bring them under law and make them follow government prescribed fares.

Last week, Roads Minister Nitin Gadkari told Rajya Sabha that his ministry was working on comprehensive guidelines to bring taxi aggregators under greater regulatory supervision. Gadkari said the legislation would soon be introduced to cover such companies, which have emerged as a threat to the black-and-yellow cabs and auto-rickshaws.

The government has also formed a committee under Roads Secretary Sanjay Mitra to draft these guidelines. For this purpose, they have also received inputs from the states. However, since online aggregators have ultimately benefited the local commuters, the ministry has asked states to only set a maximum fare instead of completely regulating the pricing.

The companies, thus, will only be able to vary prices within a certain limit. This means we may not see those unbelievably huge charges due to surge pricing in Uber or Ola. And at the same, we will be able to avail competitive rates from different taxi aggregators.