Our report earlier this week revealed how Hyundai i20, with a Telangana registration number plate, had picked up passengers (undercover cops) from Bengaluru to Hyderabad for an amount of Rs 1,600.
The car in question was seized by the Bengaluru cops and the driver was booked for using the car pooling app for private gains. Officials had stated that this was an illegal practice being followed by private car owners to make money and hence the action was taken.
This caused confusion among some readers, as Bangalore Police had themselves promoted carpooling in the past to citizens via their social media channels. So why were they fining citizens who were carpooling? Well, there is an explanation.
BlaBlaCars has tweeted a response to these allegations. They state that ride sharing is legal as long as it involves cost sharing and the owner/driver of the said car is not flouting the law to make a profit. Their services are designed to allow personal car owners to share transport costs and is well within the purview of the law.
As per Motor Vehicle Act 1988, there is no such provision disallowing carpooling. It mentions Contract Carriage and Public Service Vehicles which are allowed to carry passengers for ‘hire and reward’. Contract Carriage or Public Service Vehicle has been defined as a private car which is sometimes used to give a lift to passengers for some amount of remuneration which should not be for profit but to set off cost of the trip.
BlaBlaCar services allow such carpooling while it discourages car owners from making a profit. The company automatically calculates the cost of the ride to ensure that the price charged to passengers does not exceed running costs. Owners of private cars involved in car pooling in India do not require a special permit.
However, there is a fine line between cost sharing and making a profit out of car pooling services via this app, which is quite ambiguous at the moment and needs some more clarity.
