Carpooling Will Be Regulated: Firms Cannot Profit, KYC Mandatory, Uber/Ola Will Need Another App

The concept of carpooling by private vehicle owners is gaining popularity in India, as companies such as Quick Ride, BlaBla Car, along with Uber and Ola are becoming popular.

Govt. has taken notice of this phenomenon, and as per reports coming in, car pooling is going to be heavily regulated in India.

Checkout what rules Govt has proposed for regulating carpooling..

Firms Cannot Book Profit

One of the biggest rules which will hit the carpooling niche in India is that, firms associated with carpooling cannot make profits from this business.

It has to be in a no-profit, no-loss mode, which means that the fares will be enough to cover the ride cost and nothing more.

An unnamed official said, “We want to ensure that this does not become a commercial activity.”

At the same time, Govt. also expects to generate some revenues from this business.

The official said, “We will propose that aggregators should bring out a model where states also get some revenue. Otherwise there may be a sudden clampdown and these apps are shut. If they are getting some revenue, then state authorities will look after them.”

KYC Must For All The Parties

KYC or Know Your Customer process will have to be mandatory for both riders, and the vehicle owners, in case they participate in carpooling activity.

This means that companies such as QuickRide and Bla Bla Cars will need to allocate a budget for ensuring that KYC is done smoothly.

Separate App Must

Another very interesting rule which has been proposed by Govt. is that, a separate app should exist, for handling car pooling.

While QuickRide and Bla Bla Cars are carpooling specific apps, Uber and Ola will have to launch a separate app, if they wish to roll out carpooling on a wide scale.

We couldn’t get the logic behind this proposal.

Besides, these, the total number of carpooling rides will be restricted to 4, for each car.

Govt. has made it clear that State Governments can bring in their own rules for handling carpooling, and these rules will be proposed by the Centre.

Karnataka has already banned carpooling service by Ola, since it was hurting the income of taxi drivers.

Govt. will soon release the proposals for carpooling for a public debate.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in. 

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