Bombay HC tells state government to take final call on fixing fare for cabs

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to in eight weeks take a decision on the recommendations given by a Fare fixation committee to cap prices for app-based cab aggregators like Ola/Uber.

A division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Mohite Dhere by way of last chance granted the extension and till then directed the authorities not to take any coercive action against the cab drivers and aggregators.

Advocate G W Mattos appearing for the government told the court that the report is placed before the government for consideration and till then no coercive action against the operators will be taken.

The Association of Radio Taxis along with Ola and Uber have approached the court challenging the Maharashtra City Taxi rules which if implemented will put restrictions on the plying of Ola/Uber India cabs, and fix a maximum and minimum fare based on which the aggregators can charge commuters.

Earlier, the government had filed an affidavit, opposing a bunch of petitions saying "Framing of rules is being opposed to ensuring they are not regulated and that they get an unfettered playing field to further their monetary benefits and exploit the commuters."