EFFECT OF MOTOR VECHILES (AMENDMENT) Act, 2019 on  Cab Aggregator Platforms:

The Motor Vehicles Act received the assent of Hon’ble President on 9th August 2019 and was hereby amended from the effective date. There were many reforms which were brought into consideration during the time of passing the Amendment Bill like standards for motor vehicles, road accidents, insurance and driver licenses.One of the important reforms it proposed was to introduce regulation and recognition of cab aggregators like Ola and Uber under Section 93 of the Act. As transport lies as a state subject in the List II of the Constitution, the new Bill allows these cab aggregators to obtain licenses from the State Government but the guidelines will be set-up by the Central Government. State Government can add conditions in the form of guidelines for attaining the license. The Act added the term “aggregator” to the existent terms “agent” and “canvasser” and the bill defined transport aggregators like Uber, Ola and Meru as a digital intermediary for a passenger to connect with a driver for the purpose of transportation. Till now, Ola and Uber were not governed directly by any legislation but now Information Technology Act,2000 will be directly applicable on them which will result into penalising them for offences done by the cab aggregators under IT ACT,2000. Further, Sec 96 of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act.2019 will emphasize on fair-pricing and passenger convenience according to the particular accommodation of the cab. The Amendment Act also brings in stricter penalties ranging from Rs 25000 to Rs 1L, for instance, under Section 184 of the Act; penalty has been increased to Rs. 5000 instead of Rs. 1000 for using mobile phones and tablets.
Hence, The Amendment Act has created a huge effect on the cab aggregators because it will be difficult for them to run their business as there will be a degree of uncertainty to the extent to which usage of technology is acceptable.

Contributor- Ankita Gaba.