Now, an app for drivers to switch between cab aggregators

An illustration picture shows the logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone.

The government might soon have a centralised app for cab drivers, giving them the option to switch between aggregators like Ola and Uber, depending upon incentives and terms of service.

“If at all it (the app) comes… It will be for the drivers,” a government official, who did not wish to be identified, told Moneycontrol.

The government is keen to build a conducive environment for domestic cab aggregators with a lean car fleet to enter the market dominated by a few big players.

“There are allegations that drivers feel cheated… There is no recourse to go anywhere... Now with multiple operators available, drivers can log on to any of those,” the official said. “Instead of going to Uber, the driver might want to log on to Ola (on a specific day)… He should know, who is offering him what”.

“Operators with lean fleet of cars, who find it difficult to compete with Ola or Uber, will be able to create disruptions in the market if drivers are made available to them,” he said.

The idea assumes significance after numerous drivers complained about rapidly falling pay incentives against increased work pressure.

“There are problems (regarding salary),” said Gautam, a driver with Uber. “We are being given very less as compared to previous pays”.

Also read: You may soon have a single app for all cab aggregators 

He said that while driving hours have increased, salary paid to them has fallen tremendously.

Gautam said that he would “prefer a fixed income” for his work, irrespective of the operator he works for.

“We’ll continue to work with the company who gives us long term benefit,” he said.

“I don’t mind switching between operators,” said Rajdev, another driver with Uber. “I’ll work for the operator that pays well”.

He said that his income has fallen by more than 50 percent while working hours have doubled.

“There is no policy to safeguard us,” he said adding that working for private players exposes them to risks of losing job anytime.

Experts believe that such a move could be intended to streamline the irregularities in the drivers' market.

“The government is probably trying to do away with any confusion and make it very clear that (the drivers) are just the operators for the cab aggregators,” said Anshul Prakash, partner, Khaitan and Co., a law and consulting firm.

“They are not employees and they have a choice. So they can’t bind these people to one particular organisation”.

While the app is still in the offing, the idea will have to be planned out really well to make it successful.

“There could be different pros and cons of such an arrangement,” said Prakash.

He said that a well-established system for data sharing needs to be in place for making it “commercially” viable. A thoroughly chalked-out plan has to be formulated to determine how frequently drivers can switch to address manpower issues.

“I don’t know how it is going to work commercially," Prakash said. The key issues, according to Prakash, would involve the driver tracking system, the arrangement to notify the cab aggregator that the driver is switching over to, the frequency of switching, cooling-off period for which he has to ply with an aggregator before deciding to switch over.

“Unless the policy is played out in a proper fashion and an assessment is made, I can’t say whether it is going to be a good move or not,” he said.

Global cab giants Ola and Uber did not respond to the e-mails sent by Moneycontrol.