Players, such as Uber and Ola, have prospered on the back of heavy discounting and incentives, and this has impacted traditional intra-city taxis. The taxi aggregators have so far been able to operate without any major regulations. There have been no floor or cap fares and the cabs empanelled do not need to have a taxi licence.
Predatory pricing has been one issue, there have also been questions on surge pricing being charged by these companies and on the transparency of pricing. Also, there have been some incidences that have raised questions on security (as Ola and Uber claim to be just the platforms and the responsibility for the cab lies with the cab owner/driver.
Different states have come up with their own version of proposed policies for Mobile App based Cab Services in India. For example, the Maharashtra government's draft proposals suggest price tags for permits of Rs0.26 mn, deposits of Rs5 mn per 1,000 vehicles, and price floors and caps. Other states too have similar provisions. These provisions, if implemented, could make the aggregation model more challenging.
