Permits for Ola, Uber taxis in Maharashtra now available online

Mumbai city news: For the permits, the cabbies will have to shell out Rs25,000 for cars with engine capacity of 1400 cc and those, who have cars with higher engine capacity, will have to pay Rs2.61 lakh

The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) has started issuing permits online that are compulsory for app-based taxis to operate in the state under the newly-enacted Maharashtra City Taxi Rules 2017.

Currently, most of the taxis attached with aggregators like Ola and Uber are plying on tourist permits. (HT FILE)

Aiming to curb corruption in the process, MMVD has moved the entire process online so that cabbies need not visit RTOs at all. Mahaonline, a joint venture of the state government and Tata Consultancy Services, has developed an online application form which the cabbies can use to pay permit fee. The move is expected to eliminate the role of agents and touts at the RTOs and is time saving.

The state has made new city taxi permits mandatory for app-based taxis under the new Act brought to regulate aggregators and control the surge pricing. For the permits, the cabbies will have to shell out Rs25,000 for cars with engine capacity of 1400 cc and those, who have cars with higher engine capacity, will have to pay Rs2.61 lakh.

Currently, most of the taxis attached with aggregators like Ola and Uber are plying on tourist permits that are mainly issued to promote tourism in the state. RTO sources said the Ola and Uber cabbies will have to surrender those permits and acquire new ones to operate in the state. After receiving online applications, the department will verify and approve the permit. The transport commissioner’s office will cancel the existing tourist permit and issue the online approval. “Once the permit is approved, the cabbies will have to pay the fees online,” said an MMVD official.

The cabbies will have to log on to https://citytaxipermit.mahaonline.gov.in/ or can access it through MMVD website https://transport.maharashtra.gov.in. Mahaonline will charge Rs20 fee for the entire process, which too will have to be paid online. MMVD release said the drivers, who can’t access the internet, can apply for permits through Sangram Centres.

Of the 55,000 tourist cabs registered in Mumbai, the number of app-based taxis like Ola and Uber could be more than 40,000.