The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has made provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act to register and operate app-based taxi hailing services within jurisdiction of states so that competition is allowed to foster.
The ministry has made this observation in response to a query from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) seeking its views on ban on app-based taxi services such as Uber, Ola Cabs and TaxiForSure.
A senior official in the ministry said, “We do not want to throttle competition. But these services have to operate legally and in accordance with some provisions. In event of a complete ban, it is the consumer who will suffer.” MoRTH has shared with MCIT the legal provisions under which app-based taxi-hailing service can operate. “We have shared with them the legal provisions. They can operate as per state regulations. We will be issuing an advisory to state governments shortly outlining do’s and don’t s for operation of such services”, added the official.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) writing a letter to all internet service providers (ISPs) this week to block access to Uber, Ola Cabs and TaxiForSure with immediate effect in Delhi.
The move will prevent users from booking taxis through mobile apps and websites of these aggregators. Access to these sites have been blocked under Section 69 A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 after the Delhi transport department wrote to MCIT.
The transport department has, in the mean time, formulated an advisory which details comprehensive guidelines for registration and operation of app-based taxi services within the jurisdiction of any state.
