Mumbai: Drivers of cab aggregators like Ola and Uber might face hefty fines in case of cancelling rides in Maharashtra. Since April, 2023 a committee has been continously working to address issues like delays in pick-ups, invalid ride cancellations and unruly behaviours of the drivers.
After constant complaints by consumers on various social media platforms Maharashtra government has come up with this new proposal. Through this new proposal, the cab companies are expected to impose fines on drivers who very frequently cancel the rides booked by the app users.
A lot of consumers in recent times have shared their ordeal on various social media platforms, when the drivers of these cab companies have cancelled rides without giving any valid reason and in some cases have do not even pick calls before cancelling the rides. These situations have often left the consumers in a lot more uncomfortable and an inconvenient situations.
As per the current rules, it’s the consumers who only have to bear the fines in case they cancel the rides after booking or maybe if the cab is almost on the destination. In addition, all these cab companies have a rule of charging if the drivers have to wait. However, this has not been the case with the drivers until now. There’s no such rule, in which a driver has to pay fine for any of these situations.
However, according to a report of Hindustan Times, the Maharashtra government has assigned a special group , which has recommended that a passenger should get his/her money back in case if the driver of their booked cab cancels the ride.
Sudhirkumar Shrivastava, a retired government worker is heading the group. Sudhirkumar’s group has also suggested that drivers should be given a 20 minute time-frame to reach the pick-up location. If they fail to do so, they should fined. However, all these suggestions will only be applicable, after it gets the state government’s nod.