New Aggregating Policy : The Maharashtra government has finally passed the much-awaited ‘Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Aggregator Rules, 2026’ to curb the arbitrary governance of app-based taxi and rickshaw services like Ola, Uber and Rapido in the state. officially implemented. Minister of State for Transport Pratap Sarnaik announced this historic and strict regulation. This new policy will not only increase the safety of passengers, but the biggest relief has come to the rickshaw-taxi drivers. It is now mandatory for companies to pay at least 80 percent of the total fare collected from passengers directly to drivers is going to be
Control of base rent and exorbitant rate hikes
Companies like Ola and Uber will no longer be able to charge passengers arbitrary fares. Earlier, these companies used to charge double-triple fares from customers in the name of ‘surge pricing’ during rains, rush hours or festivals. In order to curb this looting, now the basic fare of each kilometer will be decided by the government body i.e. RTO itself. Under the new rules, companies will not be allowed to increase the rent by more than one-and-a-half times this government rent. For example, if the RTO fixes the base fare for a journey at Rs 100, companies can charge a maximum of Rs 150 from customers even during peak hours. This will curb the arbitrary fare hike by the companies and will lead to huge financial savings for the passengers. New Aggregating Policy
Regional employment and compulsion of Marathi language
Respecting the local language is now legally mandatory for doing business in Maharashtra. According to the new policy, every driver operating an app-based vehicle is required to have working knowledge of Marathi language. Apart from this the drivers must have an official professional badge of the RTO, for which the concerned driver must be an official resident of Maharashtra. Also, the mobile app and website of the companies will now have to be available in 3 languages namely English and Hindi along with Marathi. New Aggregating Policy
Women’s safety and 24 hour help center
Strict measures have been taken in this regulation for the safety of passengers, especially women. If a female passenger opts for the ‘ride pooling’ service, they have to provide a safe option in the app to be female only as a female driver or co-passenger. The government will develop a special online portal for real-time monitoring of GPS tracking of all vehicles. Along with this, every aggregator company will have to appoint a 24-hour call center and a special grievance redressal officer for passenger complaints. New Aggregating Policy
Provision of curbs and penalties for monopolies
The government has imposed a limit on the number of vehicles to prevent any single large business group or individual from monopolizing the market. In major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur, one owner cannot have more than 50 vehicles registered on one platform.while in rest of Maharashtra this limit has been kept at 25. Companies found violating these rules or lax in passenger safety may have their licenses suspended, along with fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore directly. Provision has been made in this policy. This new policy will bring transparency in the app-based transportation sector and make travel safe and affordable for common commuters, while it will be easier for local drivers to get fair compensation for their hard work. New Aggregating Policy
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