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POST TIME: 15 December, 2017 00:00 00 AM
Competitive fares mulled for ride sharing services
Draft ‘Ride Sharing Services policy’ to be placed in cabinet soon
Saugato Bosu

Competitive fares mulled 
for ride sharing services

The government has prepared the draft of ‘Ride Sharing Services policy 2017’, with the provision for setting the fares in a bid to get a grip on ride-sharing passenger service providers like Uber and Pathao. Sources said the fairs would be competitive and the fares of private cars under this policy cannot be more than the fares fixed in the Taxicab Guidelines, 2010. BRTA secretary Muhammad Showkat Ali told The Independent that they would provide legal support and framework to the ride-sharing services with a view to ensuring better passenger services.

“The fare system will be decided on the basis of quality services to the passengers,” he said. “As we think the fare will be competitive but if it creates any anger over the issue then we will take into it” he added. Already, the Road Transport and Highways Division of the communications ministry, in cooperation with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), has prepared the draft policy, titled ‘Ride Sharing Services policy 2017’, which is likely to be placed at the cabinet meeting soon, sources in the Road Transport and Highways Division and the BRTA said.

After getting cabinet approval, the authorities concerned would issue a gazette notification in this regard, the sources added.

Talking to The Independent, a high official of the Road Transport and Highways Division said it would be possible to implement the proposed policy within three months after getting the cabinet approval.

“All the ride-sharing passenger service providers have to be registered with the BRTA for giving the service,” he said. “The passengers will feel more secure to use ride-sharing services after the preparation of the policy,” he added.

According to the draft policy, these companies would have to operate either as private or public entities with Taxpayers’ Identification Number or TIN, and abide by all set conditions.

The draft rules say these companies should have at least 200 vehicles operating for them. Their pools can have motorcars, jeeps, microbuses, auto-rickshaws, ambulances and motorcycles that are privately owned and not available for hire.

The authorities will decide their service areas after assessing the size of their motor pools, road network capacity, and passenger demand besides their service skills.

To manage the ride-sharing services, a company and its vehicle owners must secure ‘Ride Sharing Enlistment Certificate’ from the BRTA.

The company must pay Tk 100,000 to have an enlistment certificate for a one-year term.  The certificate must be renewed each year by paying Tk 10,000. The correction fee will be Tk 1,000.

 According to the policy, any ride-sharing service providing company will require a minimum of 100 vehicles for the areas approved by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), and a minimum 50 vehicles for Chittagong city.  Experts say Dhaka suffers from some of the worst traffic congestions in the world. There is a demand for more options for reliable, efficient and affordable ways to get to and from work, particularly around commuting routes underserved by public transport. This is where ride-sharing service comes to play a useful role.

 Dr M Shafiq-Ur Rahman, Professor (transport planning and management) Urban and Regional Planning Jahangirnagar University, said bringing share-riding companies under a policy framework would be good for everyone.

He felt, basically, a positive change would take place in maintaining passenger service amidst traffic congestion in Dhaka city.

Recently, the CNG-run Auto Rickshaw Owners’ Association called a strike against the growing popularity of ride-sharing companies. They claimed ride-sharing was popular and cheaper because of the absence of government tax on the system, while they had to pay high commercial taxes on their vehicles and under other heads, making their operations costly.

They demanded a stop to ride-sharing services, as they were not governed by any government policy or regulation.

Muhammad Showkat Ali, secretary, BRTA, told this correspondent that CNG-run auto-rickshaws were operating by flouting the law made for them. They have maintained a monopoly for years. The recent popularity of ride-sharing apps has effectively thrown the outdated industry off-balance, he felt.

He said the operations of the ride-sharing companies could not be termed illegal, but irregularities would be now removed with the help of a policy.

“We could not anticipate their popularity and the questions being raised against them,” said Showkat Ali, replying to a query about why the services had not been covered by a policy, although they were launched a year ago.

On the other hand, CNG-run Auto Rickshaw Owners’ Association said they also wanted to be part of a mobile-application-based service. If CNG run auto rickshaw drivers were trained, they could take part in this service, the association maintained.

An app named-Hello Ride has already been developed to accommodate the CNG auto-rickshaws in the pool of ride-sharing vehicles. Rinku Jamal, coordinator of Hello Ride, said it would be helpful for both commuters and drivers to provide smooth services.

On November 22, 2016, mobile app-based company Uber started its journey with private vehicles in Dhaka. Before that, Sam (share a motorcycle) began to offer passenger service on motorcycles. These services became popular quickly.

Earlier this month, Uber, the world’s largest on-demand ride-sharing company that is yet to obtain official permission from the government to run its services in Bangladesh, celebrated its first anniversary in the capital, highlighting its achievements in the country during the first year of operation.

Uber claimed they received over 1.5 million requests from passengers in Dhaka over the past one year. And 200,000 of them were in November alone.

The report also says around 9,500 drivers make daily trips in Dhaka and around 100 new drivers sign up with Uber every day. Initially, ‘Uber Premier’ and bike sharing service ‘Ubermoto’ were launched.

According to Pathao, the company has around 300,000 riders and users, measured on the basis of the number of app download. City dwellers are making thousands of trips per day, and they are satisfied with the service in general.

A year ago, in the six months of the launching of Uber, Dhaka came to be the fastest growing city in the list of the Asia-Pacific region of Uberbhandhob. With Uber’s popularity, some local companies, too, began offering application-based transport service. These are Pathao, Sam, Cholo, Amar Bike, Amar Ride, Moyour, Wages.

Initially, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority said that these services are illegal, citing these services do not have official permission to operate.  But the government is unable to stop them because of their popularity, BRTA added.

During the celebration marking one year of Uber, the company refused to answer any question from journalists but later contacted them to give their reaction to the government’s draft policy.

Pradeep Parameswaran Uber India and South Asia Operation Head said Uber was an institution registered in Bangladesh, and was not illegal. He also said that there was “significant progress” (in matters of policy) but declined to go into details. “We are hopeful that this will happen quickly (policy formulation) and we will take this sector to a better place,” he said.

Pathao authorities also said they are working with the government to bring their operations under a clearly defined legal framework.

Many commuters said that services like Uber and Pathao were helpful for the passengers and taking a position against these services were out of the question. Government should approve the policy on ride-sharing companies as early as possible, they felt.