The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of Ridesharing Service Guideline, 2017 to bring the app-based transport services under a legal framework, report agencies.
Under the guideline Uber, Pathao and other ride-sharing services need to register with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
"The ridesharing services are already available in the country, and the cabinet endorsed the draft of the Ridesharing Service Guideline, 2017 for bringing these under a legal framework," Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told a press briefing at the Secretariat.
The cabinet meeting, the second in 2018, was held at the Prime Minister's Office with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Mobile app-based transportation service Uber began offering its operations in Dhaka on Nov 22, 2016 and gained in popularity. Motorcycle-based ride service SAM was operating in the capital before then and Pathao entered the market afterwards.
The BRTA first sent a closure letter to SAM and then to Uber, saying there were no laws in Bangladesh approving their operations. Representatives from the two companies met with the BRTA chairman on Nov 29.
The BRTA began preparing a draft of a mobile-app transportation service policy in February, 2017. The director of the BRTA Enforcement Division headed the committee on the policy draft. The draft was sent from the BRTA to the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry on Jun 21.
According to the guideline, the fare of the ridesharing vehicles can't be more than the fares cited in the Taxicab Service Guideline 2010, the Cabinet Secretary said.
He said the guideline with only eight articles has been framed to regulate the app-based transport services with private cars, motor cycles, jeeps, microbuses and ambulances.
As per the guideline, a ridesharing company needs to take enlistment certificate from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), as well as have VAT and TIN certificates and in case of private and public limited company it must follow the rules of the Company Act.
The BRTA will fix the service area of a ridesharing company considering the service demand and road condition, Shafiul Alam said.
A transport owner will be allowed to engage only one vehicle under the ridesharing service after one year of a vehicle's registration, he said.
The guideline suggests that a ridesharing company must have at least 100 vehicles for operating in the Dhaka transport areas defined by Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, 50 for Chittagong city and 20 for other cities.
The ridesharing vehicles will have to be parked on a specific stand and parking area to collect passengers.
As per the guideline, a company may apply online to the BRTA along with fee and other necessary documents for having enlistment certificate. The enlistment fee is Tk 0.1 million (one lakh), while the annual renewal fee is Tk 10,000.
The guideline also suggests having lists of all vehicles under the ridesharing app-based services on the BRTA web portal and scope for commuters to lodge complaints.
Earlier, Science and Technology Affairs Minister Yafez Osman handed over as a memento a 'trowel' to the Prime Minister which used for inaugurating the construction work on Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on November 30.
At the cabinet meeting, State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder handed over the Prime Minister the crest and certificate of the 'Best Youth Minister Award 2017 of South Asia', awarded to Biren Sikder by International Youth Committee.
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