Ola, Uber Can Now Charge Double During Peak Hours, Bad Weather. Here's How It Will Hurt Your Pocket

News18

a day ago

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If the base fare of a ride is Rs 100, the minimum the cab providers have to charge is Rs 50 and they can take it up to Rs 200 under surge pricing
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has allowed cab aggregators—including Ola, Uber and Rapido—to charge up to twice the base fare from passengers under dynamic pricing during rush or peak hours and bad weather.
The ministry issued the Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, on Tuesday that also allowed the cab providers to lower the fare up to 50 per cent below the base fare during off-peak or low-demand periods.
State governments have three months to adopt the revised guidelines.
So far, while the minimum limit was 50 per cent lower than the base fare, the upper limit was 1.5 times only. 'The aggregator shall be permitted to charge a minimum of 50 per cent lower than the base fare and a maximum dynamic pricing of two times the base fare," the ministry said.
Impact on Pocket
So, if the base fare of a ride is Rs 100, the minimum the cab providers have to charge is Rs 50 and they can take it up to Rs 200 under surge pricing. State governments will set and notify base fares for each vehicle category.
'The base fare chargeable shall be for a minimum of three (3) kilometers to compensate for dead mileage including the distance travelled without a passenger and the distance travelled and fuel utilised for picking up the passenger(s)," MORTH said in the policy.
The ministry also said that no passenger will be charged for dead mileage, except when the pickup point is less than three kilometres from the cab's location. In cases where the distance is more than 3 kilometres, the fare will apply only from pickup to drop-off—not for the distance covered to reach the passenger.
No Change In Cancellation Charges
In case a passenger cancels a booking after confirmation on the app, a fee of 10 per cent of the fare, not exceeding Rs 100, can be collected, when such cancellation is made without a valid reason and duly and specifically mentioned on the website and app of the aggregator, the ministry said.
This amount will have to be divided between the driver and the aggregator.
Revision after 2020
In 2020, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued the 'Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020" under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The guidelines provided a regulatory framework for state governments to issue licences and regulate aggregators in the road transport sector.
'Since 2020, India's shared mobility ecosystem has undergone rapid and significant change. The rise in demand for diverse and flexible mobility solutions including bike-sharing, introduction of electric vehicles (EVs), and auto-rickshaw rides, has widened the consumer base," the Ministry explained.
As the travel preferences evolve, aggregators have expanded their services to meet these new demands through innovative models. 'The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 have been revised to keep the regulatory framework up to date with the developments in the motor vehicles aggregator ecosystem. The new guidelines attempt to provide a light-touch regulatory system while attending to issues of safety & security of the user and the welfare of the driver," the ministry stated.