Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that Centre is working on a Bill to bring cab aggregators like Ola and Uber under greater regulatory supervision. During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Gadkari said under the present provisions of the “outdated” Motor Vehicles Act, there is not much regulatory control over taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber.
Gadkari said the new proposed legislation would have various provisions, including verification of drivers, installation of GPS and other issues. He suggested that the proposed Bill may categorise services of taxis up to 1,200 cc differently, as compared to luxury vehicles like Mercedes that plied as taxis.
Gadkari also told the House that he had sought a report from a committee headed by secretary of his ministry in a month’s time. This committee will recommend guidelines to the states for regulating the taxi aggregators and taxis to facilitate citizens.
In a different reply, Gadkari also informed the Upper House that a ‘fast track card’ was also being planned and its users would not need to stop at toll stations as the card itself will carry the entire details of the user. He suggested that MPs could also be provided these cards.
Gadkari also mentioned that the Government was planning to construct a Metrino project from Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan to Manesar in Gurgaon. The Minister said that while a metro project cost `350 crore per kilometre to be built, the Metrino project would cost around `50 crore per kilometre.