Ride hailing giants Ola, Uber pays $3.03 Million in parking charges to Indian Railways

Key Highlights

Indian Railways earned Rs 20.93 crore in parking charges from Ola, Uber, and

Indian Railways allots an area outside to station for parking of app-based cabs.

The parking management responsibility is assigned to the contractor.

Ride-hailing unicorns Ola, Uber, and Meru are becoming an asset for Indian Railways and building a fruitful relationship with it by turning as a growing source of revenue for the state-run transporter as they are using prime parking slots outside the country’s many busy stations. 

According to Rajen Gohain, minister of state for railways, Indian Railways has earned an estimated $3.3 Million i.e.  Rs 20.93 crore in parking charges aloof from app-based cabs in the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Indian Railway has earned total revenue of Rs. 1.68 Lakh Crore in the financial year 2017.

To bolster the move Indian Railways has allotted an area outside to Mumbai Central station for parking of app-based cabs on contract basis in the western railway of Mumbai division. No more than 10 cabs can be parked in the area allotted and operation and management of the taxi booth will be the complete liability of the contractor.

Lok Sabha Minister also stated about the management of booths that this contract is for parking but if any obstacles occur complaint books are present at every station with the station master for the users to register their problems. He also added there is no linkage of app-focused cab service with online ticket booking service because Railway is giving parking space only on a contract basis to the ‘app-based cab’ service providers.

Since last two-three years Railways has permitted ride-hailing firms to park vehicles outside stations in many states including Andra Pradesh Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and several others,  In Feb last year, app-based cabs were allowed to park on railway stations in Delhi. Ola had signed MoUs with various railway zones to function in assigned stations and Uber had also struck a pact with Eastern Railways.

Ola and Uber in 2017 also signed an INR 51 Cr ($7.4 Million) deal with the South Western Railway (Bengaluru Division) for three years to set up booking kiosks at 12 railway stations in Bengaluru. 

The key points covered in the agreement between Indian Railways and cab service providers include:-

1. A fixed license fee has to paid to Railways if there increase of decrease on the area.
2. Only up to 10 cabs can be parked in the allotted parking area at any point in time.
3. Permissionto brand the kiosk, without an additional license fee.
4. Working staff should be in a proper dress, ID card and of fixed numbers.
5. Management and functioning of taxi booth shall be the complete responsibility of the contractor, including the resolution of any disputes if occurred.

It is great move of Indian Railways to assist travelers to to have a smooth journey.

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