We have all faced a situation when our cabbie cancels the ride on us. It happens due to various reasons. Either the cab driver is not happy with your end location, or he might have a “technical issue with the app”. Personally, once a cab driver canceled on me as I had opted for online payment, which he was not happy about.
These are just a few, from a long list of excuses that we get from the Ola/Uber drivers.
When the app user cancels a ride after the driver has accepted and is on the way to your location, Ola/Uber charges a certain fine for cancellation. But what about when the cab driver cancels on us?
According to recent reports, app-based cabs will no longer be able to cancel a ride or refuse services, according to Madhya Pradesh state government.
The cabs will be fined Rs. 1000 as per a new law that will soon come into effect. The law is a part of a set of regulations that the Madhya Pradesh government is coming out with to ensure the safety of passengers and quality of service.
Not just penalizing aggregators for cancellations, the new law will also look to regulate fares. The rules have been finalized and sent to the law department and a gazette notification is expected in a month, said a senior official. Security features — like an alert beeping in the control room if a cab stops midway or heads in a different location — will be incorporated.
The new rules cover not only cab aggregators like Ola and Uber but also firms that provide autos, rental bikes, and taxis.
Madhya Pradesh isn’t the first state to come up with regulations around cab aggregators — Karnataka and Maharashtra have come out with similar regulations of their own. But what makes Madhya Pradesh’s proposal unique is the penalty for cab aggregators when their drivers cancel a booked ride.
