Digital taxi services to be rolled out in this state

Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up to roll out digital taxi services.

Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, B.V.R Subrahmanyam, on Friday chaired a meeting along with the administrative secretaries of the departments of Housing and Urban Development, and Transport, Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu, and RTO, Jammu. The meeting was held to review preparations for the rollout of the taxis services.

The Transport Department informed that any company registered under the Companies' Act or a firm registered under the Partnership Act can apply for a license. The Department will, however, give preference to a registered company or a firm of IT professionals from Jammu and Kashmir.As per the notified rules in the official press release, the applicants are required to be in operation for at least three years, have valid GST and PAN besides a fleet of at least 50 taxis or autos, a developed MIS system or 24X7 control room or web- portal/mobile app for operation along with audited financial statements, and a registered office in the area of operation.

The license granted under these rules shall be valid for a period of five years and is subject to be suspended/cancelled by the licensing authority if the licensee fails to comply with any prescribed terms/conditions or any complaint against the licensee by any passenger has been proved.

Further, the rules provide that the fare charged by these digital cabs shall not be more than as notified by the Government and the license shall display the fare rate along with a fare rate estimator on the website/ internet-enabled app which will connect the licensee with drivers and passengers.