bdnews24.com :
The government’s guidelines regarding the new app-based ride-sharing businesses in Dhaka are less like supervision and more like efforts to exert control, say drivers, owners and some entrepreneurs.
Ride-sharing service SAM began operating the first motorcycle-based ride-sharing service in the Bangladesh capital in May, 2016. SAM executives claim that though they had gone to the BRTA and various ministries for permission to start their business, in most cases they were unable to even speak to an official.
They began their business after sending a letter to seven ministries stating that they would be willing to follow any regulations that were established in the future. But the BRTA ordered them to halt their operations afterwards in a notice published in the newspapers.
Mobile app-based service Uber began operating in Dhaka on Nov 22 of that year. The BRTA also published a notice ordering the company to halt service, calling it ‘illegal’.
Another ride app named Pathao also gained popularity around that time. Shohoz.com, which had started out selling bus tickets, also launched an app soon after. Cholo, Amar Bike,
Amar Ride and various other companies have also entered the industry since.
Congestion-prone Dhaka has nearly 300,000 private cars, which are regularly blamed for the heavy traffic. Though several taxi services have attempted to operate in the city, their popularity has been limited by prices, which are too high for ordinary citizens. The CNG autorickshaws that operate in the city are infamous for turning off their fare metres and charging high prices. The new app-based services allowed middle class citizens to make use of cars on the road.
The BRTA submitted a draft of regulations for mobile app-based transport services in February 2017. The BRTA sent the draft to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges on Jun 21 of last year. It received the government’s final approval on Jan 15.
Drivers have objected to the regulation restricting drivers to working for only one ride-sharing company at a time, saying it defeats the main purpose of the system.
“If we can only use one app it will be bad for us,” bike service rider Md Hanif told bdnews24.com. “Then the company will have influence over us and we will have to listen to them.”
“Why should we have only one app?” said another rider named Abdul Quayyum. “I should be free to work with whatever app I want at any time.”
SAM founder Imtiaz Kashem said the BRTA had made a ‘mistake’ in the guidelines it established.
The regulation makes drivers and bike riders into de-facto employees, he said.
“Think about an employed driver who wishes to take two requests a day. But the company, which has to compete with several others, sends 10 requests a day.”
“If they are restricted to only one app, there will be a difference between the person who takes 10 fares a day and the one who takes two. The person who takes two requests will get a lower rating and may have to leave the market. They can no longer work in the industry. Only those who take it on as an occupation will be able to survive.”
“The riders and drivers will thus be beholden to the company and the company to the BRTA. Instead it should be free,” he said.
The government’s guidelines regarding the new app-based ride-sharing businesses in Dhaka are less like supervision and more like efforts to exert control, say drivers, owners and some entrepreneurs.
Ride-sharing service SAM began operating the first motorcycle-based ride-sharing service in the Bangladesh capital in May, 2016. SAM executives claim that though they had gone to the BRTA and various ministries for permission to start their business, in most cases they were unable to even speak to an official.
They began their business after sending a letter to seven ministries stating that they would be willing to follow any regulations that were established in the future. But the BRTA ordered them to halt their operations afterwards in a notice published in the newspapers.
Mobile app-based service Uber began operating in Dhaka on Nov 22 of that year. The BRTA also published a notice ordering the company to halt service, calling it ‘illegal’.
Another ride app named Pathao also gained popularity around that time. Shohoz.com, which had started out selling bus tickets, also launched an app soon after. Cholo, Amar Bike,
Amar Ride and various other companies have also entered the industry since.
Congestion-prone Dhaka has nearly 300,000 private cars, which are regularly blamed for the heavy traffic. Though several taxi services have attempted to operate in the city, their popularity has been limited by prices, which are too high for ordinary citizens. The CNG autorickshaws that operate in the city are infamous for turning off their fare metres and charging high prices. The new app-based services allowed middle class citizens to make use of cars on the road.
The BRTA submitted a draft of regulations for mobile app-based transport services in February 2017. The BRTA sent the draft to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges on Jun 21 of last year. It received the government’s final approval on Jan 15.
Drivers have objected to the regulation restricting drivers to working for only one ride-sharing company at a time, saying it defeats the main purpose of the system.
“If we can only use one app it will be bad for us,” bike service rider Md Hanif told bdnews24.com. “Then the company will have influence over us and we will have to listen to them.”
“Why should we have only one app?” said another rider named Abdul Quayyum. “I should be free to work with whatever app I want at any time.”
SAM founder Imtiaz Kashem said the BRTA had made a ‘mistake’ in the guidelines it established.
The regulation makes drivers and bike riders into de-facto employees, he said.
“Think about an employed driver who wishes to take two requests a day. But the company, which has to compete with several others, sends 10 requests a day.”
“If they are restricted to only one app, there will be a difference between the person who takes 10 fares a day and the one who takes two. The person who takes two requests will get a lower rating and may have to leave the market. They can no longer work in the industry. Only those who take it on as an occupation will be able to survive.”
“The riders and drivers will thus be beholden to the company and the company to the BRTA. Instead it should be free,” he said.
