Guidelines spell fresh trouble for cab aggregators

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Editor's note: Late last week, India’s road transport and highways ministry issued guidelines to help states and union territories better regulate app-based cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber.  They cover issues ranging from capping commissions and surge prices to mandating a ceiling on the time drivers spend at the wheel. The full list of guidelines can be found here.  Of course, given that transport is a state subject, i.e., one over which only state governments can legislate, the onus of implementing any or all of these guidelines will remain with the states. That said, states have been proactive in regulating cab aggregators in the past and one can safely assume that these guidelines will be put into practice by many of them soon.  “If I were an investor in a cab aggregator service, I would be very concerned. These guidelines put a lot of onus on driver training, behaviour of the aggregator, with a cap on both riding hours and commissions. It will make it tough for any of the companies to make money, with these rules. Moreover, with different states …