Indian Govt's Sahkar App-Based Taxi Hailing Service To Challenge Uber, Ola. Rapido

Over the years taxi ride hailing services like Ola Cabs and Uber along with many others have enjoyed a lot of monopoly in the market. As a result of this they sometimes start charging unfairly and people do not have other alternatives to go to. Now in order to solve this issue the government of India is planning to launch a new cooperative ride hailing alternative. The plans for this cab cooperation service was announced by Home Minister Amit Shah at the Parliament.

Ola, Uber to compete with government

As per the announcement, this cab cooperative service is being planned for the citizens as an alternative to Ola Cabs and Uber. Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted that this service aligns with Primer Minister Narendra Modi's vision of “Sahkar Se Samruddhi” which means prosperity through cooperation. When exactly this service will be rolled out for citizens is currently unknown.

However, it has been stated that if it can be successfully implemented. India will be the first country to establish a government-supported cooperative alternative to private ride-hailing. Now coming to the details of this service, the cooperative ride service will offer two-wheeler taxis, auto-rickshaws and four-wheeler taxis.

Coming to the onboarding of drivers, the government in order to lure in more drivers will be ensuring that profits will go directly to the drivers. The main selling point for this service will be the elimination of intermediaries such as Uber and Ola). This will help in increasing drivers’ earnings and it will also reduce fares for passengers which will make travel more affordable for citizens.

Challenge for government

In theory this cooperative ride hailing service makes a lot of sense and it may seem like it could become an instant hit. However, in reality such things are difficult to roll out. Prior to this there have been various attempts from different state governments to launch their own ride hailing services.

Delhi launched Sewa Cab and Kerala launched Namma Yatri. Unfortunately they both could not end the dominance of Ola Cabs and Uber. As for the central government’s cooperative ride hailing alternative, it is believed that there is a slightly higher chance of success.

This is because the government backing and the model with drivers may earn more and citizens having to pay less could be a few major selling points of this service.

Bike taxis now legal in India

For the past few years, bike taxis have been in the ambiguity of whether they can be legally operated or not. Now giving a relief to the bike taxis operators the government of India has announced that under the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act), the bike taxis are now legal. This advisory defines bike taxis as contract carriages which makes them legally operable across the country.

For those who may not be aware, contract carriages are vehicles hired for a specific journey. Unlike stage carriages like buses, they cannot pick up additional passengers along the way. This now makes bike taxis a recognized mode of transport under Indian law. As a result of this now bike taxis operators like Rapido can now be operated in India.

However, it has also been notified to the different state governments that they have to update their own guidelines. For those who may not be aware, there were many states across the country which banned bike taxis.