Cab aggregators navigate a regulatory maze, face troublesome issues

States are yet to follow central licensing guidelines, with which companies have problems anyway, adding to the confusion in this booming business

Ride-hailing companies or cab aggregators in India generate 4 million rides every day in around 200 cities. As much as 50-60 per cent of their revenues come from the country’s top 10 cities. Now, almost a decade in operation and default public transport option for middle-income Indians, the industry faces troublesome regulatory issues.

One is the multiplicity of rules across states, even though the Ministry of Road Transport and highways (MoRTH) came out with model guidelines three years ago. This variability leaves cab aggregators facing a plethora of rules across India. Some of them are bizarre, such as West Bengal’s