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Govt to allow Uber and rivals to charge 20% commission on fares
Industry experts had warned that a 10% cap would hit revenue and operations of the likes of Uber, which have faced increased regulatory scrutiny in several countries.
India will allow app-based taxi aggregators such as Uber Technologies and Ola to charge up to 20% commission on ride fares, according to guidelines issued on Friday, diluting an earlier proposal to cap fees at 10%.
Industry experts had warned that a 10% cap would hit revenue and operations of the likes of Uber, which have faced increased regulatory scrutiny in several countries.
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The final guidelines, which are to be considered by the state governments when issuing licences to aggregators, say drivers should receive 80% of the ride fare with the taxi companies receiving the remaining 20%.
The government guidelines also recommended that so-called surge prices at busy times can be a maximum of 1.5 times the base fare and that companies must provide insurance cover for drivers and limit them to working no more than 12 hours a day.
India accounts for an estimated 11% of Uber’s global rides annually and is SoftBank-backed Ola’s home market.
