Ola, Uber asked to follow base fare of black-&-yellow taxis in Mumbai

The transport authority of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has directed app-based taxi and auto rickshaw aggregators to follow the base fare of black-and-yellow taxis until the government decides on separate rates for them.

The three aggregator firms -- Uber, Ola and Rapido -- were supposed to incorporate the existing fare structure of black-and-yellow taxis in their mobile applications before 5 pm on September 18. In a letter dated September 16, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) said the existing fare of black-and- yellow taxis is Rs 20.66 per km for non-AC vehicles and Rs 22.72 per km for AC vehicles. The three firms should implement it as base fare until the new rates for app-based taxis and auto rickshaws are finalised, it said.

Bharat Kalaskar, secretary of MMRTA, told PTI that the base fare can be discounted by 25 percent when the demand is low, while a 1.5 times surge is allowed during a high-demand period. "We had convened a meeting of them (aggregators) and they have agreed to implement it," said Kalaskar, who also holds additional charge as additional transport commissioner of Maharashtra. Representatives of app-based drivers' unions were also present, he said.

The MMRTA also directed in the letter that the drivers will get 80 percent share of the fare. Sources said the transport authority took the decision under pressure from the unions of drivers of app-based taxis and auto rickshaws, who threatened an agitation if the government failed to give them a fare hike.

Passengers will have to pay at least Rs 5 extra per kilometer under the new system. Currently, app-based aggregators offer rides with a base fare of Rs 15-16 for smaller cabs. Meanwhile, Bhartiya Gig Kamgar Manch, an union of gig workers including drivers of app-based cabs and autos, organised a meeting in Mumbai. A group of drivers also went to the Transport Commissioner's office at Flora Fountain to protest against the government's decision to give licences to motorbike taxis. The cabbies also put up placards with "Ola Uber and Rapido Mantralay" written on them on the boards at the Transport Commissioner's office, and shouted slogans "Tesla Mantri haay haay" against Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, who recently purchased a Tesla for his personal use. The union has also threatened another, more intense agitation on September 30 if the government failed to hike the fare of app- based taxis and gives licences to bike taxis.