Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 2: The Centre has approved a hike in surge pricing for cab aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido, allowing them to charge up to twice the base fare during peak hours. This is a jump from the earlier cap of 1.5 times. During non-peak hours, fares must be at least 50% of the base rate, according to the newly released Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines (MVAG) 2025 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

States have been given three months to adopt the revised guidelines.

The Centre has also introduced a penalty of 10% of the fare (capped at Rs 100) for drivers who cancel rides without valid reasons. The same penalty applies to passengers for unprovoked cancellations.

Under the new policy, cab aggregators must ensure drivers are covered under health insurance of at least Rs 5 lac and term insurance of Rs 10 lac.

Importantly, state governments must now notify the base fares for different categories, including bike taxis and auto rickshaws, which are now covered under MVAG 2025.

Drivers must receive a minimum of 80% of the total fare, while aggregators can retain the rest. Payments to drivers must be settled as per agreement but no later than a fortnight.

For enhanced passenger safety, aggregators must:

• Install and maintain Vehicle Location and Tracking Devices (VLTD) in vehicles,
• Transmit live location feeds to their systems and the state’s command centres,
• Alert control rooms in case of route deviation, and
• Provide app-based verification to ensure the registered driver matches the one on duty.

These reforms aim to bring transparency, accountability, and safety in the ride-hailing ecosystem across India.