Bombay HC praises taxi aggregators

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday praised the services provided by the app-based taxi operators Ola and Uber. The court said the services provided by the app-based operators are “fantastic” and the state government should take into consideration public interest before taking a final decision about fixing the fares.

A division bench of Justices R.M. Sawant and Sadhana Jadhav was hearing petitions filed by Uber, Ola and six drivers plying cabs with these companies. The petitions challenged the Maharashtra City Taxi rules proposed by the state government and also alleged that the rules were arbitrary and bad.

Additional government pleader (AGP) G.W. Mattos on Friday informed the court that “the state has constituted a committee to look into the matter of fixing fares. The committee hasn’t yet filed the report. Hence, the state has decided not to take any coercive steps until the committee submits its report.”The court accepted the statement, saying, “Uber provides services throughout the world, and its service is fantastic. This is a serious issue, and the interest of the consumers must be considered. The state government should keep this in mind before taking a final decision.”

The high court said, “We are concerned about the consumers and their interest. The court also said if black-and-yellow taxis provided good service then people would not have preferred OLA and Uber. and that black-and-yellow taxis only want to ply long distance. The court also permitted the All India Radio Taxi Operators Association, which plies Meru cabs and Tabcabs to be impleaded as respondents in the petitions.

“We will hear the arguments of all concerned parties. Today, we accepted the statement made by the state government that it would not take any coercive steps until committee submits its report,” Justice Sawant said. The committee is expected to submit the report in four weeks. The petitions will be heard on August 3.  “The drivers will have to obtain local permits and will not be allowed to ply on their national tourist permits,” the drivers claimed in A petition. “Obtaining local permits will cost private taxi drivers and owners ten times more than what it costs the drivers of black-and-yellow taxis,” the petition added.