Cab Services Come Under Govt Regulation In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued a set of regulations for the private cab services providers in the state.

As per a notification, issued by Commerce and Transport department, the cab companies providing transport services to the customers through online booking made on their websites, apps and phone calls would come under Odisha On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Guidelines 2023. The cab companies like Ola, Uber Rapido and others will be covered under the regulations.

The government has made it mandatory for these companies to obtain licence for providing the services by paying a minimum fee of Rs 50,000. The cab firms having less than 1,000 vehicles will be charged fee of Rs 1 lakh and those having more than 1,000 cabs will pay Rs 2.5 lakh. The licence, which will remain valid for 5 years, can be renewed by paying Rs 25,000.

Stating that the guidelines aim at ensuring the safety and security of the passengers and cab drivers, the department stated that the drivers and owners of the vehicles should not be convicted in any drunk and drive case for at least 7 years.

Similarly, they should not be convicted in cases of cheating, sexual exploitation and violent incidents. No case should be pending against them in the court. They should have driving licence for 2 years and Odisha domicile certificate.

While the knowledge of Odia language has also been made mandatory for them, the vehicles should have GPS and panic buttons, the department stated.

The service providers should maintain the records of the passengers carried by the vehicles, the pick-up and destination addresses and distance travelled, payment of fares for at least one year so that the government can check those whenever necessary.

After a customer books a cab, the photograph and mobile number of the driver and registration number of the vehicle should be sent to him automatically.

The cab companies have to pay tax of Re 1 per km to the government. However, the e-vehicles are exempted from the tax. Besides, the department will decide the fares to be charged to the customers and the share of the vehicle and drivers, the notification stated.