Uber bends over backwards to win India, installs taxi meters in Bangalore

At the end of my Uber ride, the driver placed a taxi board on top of the car to show me how Uber cabs will soon look in Bangalore. Photo credit: Tech in Asia.

I took an Uber ride in Bangalore this weekend and noticed something I hadn’t seen earlier: a red panic button next to the driver’s head. On quizzing driver Srinivasa, I discovered he had a digital taxi meter fitted in the glove compartment and a taxi board lying in the boot of his car. At the end of the ride, he placed the taxi board on top of the car to show me how Uber cabs will soon look in Bangalore.

Srinivasa says all he had to do was park his car at the Uber Bangalore HQ in HSR Layout. Uber provided the new equipment and took care of the fittings. It even compensated him for his cab’s idle time.

On his part, he has obtained all the documentation required under new regulations, both for his car and himself. This included police verification of his identity and home address, and road worthiness of his car. He has submitted all his papers to the Regional Transport Office.

A standoff with regulators

Check out Uber’s new red panic button next to the driver’s head. Photo credit: Tech in Asia.

Srinivasa is among 150 odd Uber drivers who have undergone this process so far. This comes after a standoff between Uber and regulators in the state of Karnataka, whose capital is Bangalore.

Drivers like Srinivasa and riders like me, who have come to depend on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Uber, will be hoping that common sense prevails.

A few months ago, the Indian government had issued an advisory to states for “licensing, compliance, and liability of on-demand information technology based transportation aggregators.” This was meant to help states come up with reasonable new regulations, making a distinction between traditional taxis and ride-hailing apps.

Karnataka came out with its interpretation in April, setting out new licensing regulations for “cab aggregators.” Uber tried to apply for the new license but its application wasn’t accepted because it did not fully comply with the requirements. These include installation of fare meters.

“We are in favor of regulations. They are a sign that the industry is being recognized. However, it is important that these regulations be progressive and not regressive,” says Bhavik Rathod, Uber’s GM for southern and western India.

Bhavik says the state initially came out with draft regulations in February which were “forward-thinking and in line with the central advisory.” Uber submitted its suggestions on the draft, but the regulations that finally got notified in April were different. “The recent regulations are pretty much the same ones that came out in 1988 for the radio taxi industry,” he adds.

A period of limbo followed, with regulators sending notices to Uber to comply with the new regulations. Then the pressure increased as police started to seize Uber cabs and slap hefty fines on its drivers for being “unlicensed” to ply cabs. The authorities issued a stern notice to Uber to stop its operations until it got a cab aggregator license.

See: Uber, Ola told to stop operations in Bangalore or else…

A battle in court

A test case for taxi apps