Govt may launch one app for cabbies to switch between taxi operators

Mumbai: Ola and Uber cab drivers will soon be able to switch between app-based cab aggregators depending on incentives and terms of service, as the government plans to launch an app to allow them to do so.

According to a report in Moneycontrol, the government is planning to develop the centralised app to encourage cab aggregators with a lean car fleet to enter the app-based taxi service market. It will also provide support to drivers who have for long been alleging that they feel “cheated” under the Ola-Uber regime.

“Instead of going to Uber, the driver might want to log on to Ola (on a specific day)… He should know, who is offering him what," said a government official.

This development comes in the wake of widespread protests by Ola, Uber drivers in various parts of the country against inhuman working hours, falling incentives and the lack of a proper dialogue between employers and the employees.  

“There are problems (regarding salary),” said Gautam, an Uber driver. Gautam said that he would like to get “fixed income”, irrespective of the operator he works for. Others like Rajdev, also a driver with Uber, admitted that he does not mind switching between operators as long as he gets better payment.

Experts believe that this centralised app will address the insecurity drivers face. Anshul Prakash, partner, Khaitan and Co., a law and consulting firm, opined that the app will establish the drivers’ position in the trade circle, so that the operators cannot take them for a ride any longer. “They are not employees and they have a choice. So they can’t bind these people to one particular organisation”.

However, the app will have to be developed in a way that it involves the driver tracking system, a rightful method to notify the cab aggregator that the driver is switching over to, the frequency of switching and the notice period for which he has to serve an aggregator before deciding to switch over.