Conscious Capitalism is need of the day for Taxi Aggregators

 

Taxi aggregator services are much needed in ever-growing Indian cities, and their innovative use of technology could well solve a swathe of commuter problems in the city. The taxi aggregators have faced ethics related issues globally and the problem is that they are so young they never really developed a value system. They did, however, succeed in focusing on creating a wow experience for their customers, which resulted in their astounding success.

The important stakeholders for the two major taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, operating in India are,

Stakeholders

1.      Owners and Shareholders

2.      State Government

3.      Central Government

4.      Auto-rickshaw drivers/owners

5.      Ola/Uber Cab drivers/owners

6.      General Public/Customers

7.      Women

8.      Road Transport Ministry

9.      Digital Payment Technology Companies like Paytm, Mobiqwik.

10.  3 wheeler manufacturers

11.  IT Companies who hire Ola/Uber taxis for their employees who work in night shifts

12.  Loan agencies and banks who give loans to taxi drivers who are employees of Ola/Uber

13.  Start-ups like Apna Cabs, Cool Cabs, etc.

14.  Environmental Groups

15.  Social Activists

The taxi aggregators have some ethical responsibilities towards their stakeholders. Shareholders must receive timely dividends through growth of company.  Cab drivers/owners who have taken a "commercial risk" by enlisting on such platforms should get appropriate salaries. Loan agencies and banks who give loans to Ola/Uber taxi drivers to buy vehicle should get the principle and EMI on time from Ola/Uber drivers. The taxi aggregators also have ethical responsibility of paying Taxes and accept liability to be taxed.   Taxi aggregators currently claim that they do not need licences to operate because they are technology providers rather transport providers. But, an Uber or an Ola cannot claim to be a technology company. After all, customers are paying them for a transport service. The taxi aggregators must adhere to Motor Vehicle act and other laws recommended by the Road Transport ministry. They should share data with regulators, especially as they relate to safety. Company should take responsibility in the event of any crime or unauthorised activity. Safety of Women passengers should be utmost important for Taxi Aggregators. For this  aggregator needs to develop and include a feature in its mobile application that provides the women  passenger with a facility to share their real-time location with up to five persons within their safety network and to contact local police in case of an emergency. The taxi aggregators   must ensure that strict background checks are conducted before a driver is signed up. These include Police verification, Medical check-up, Document verification (Driving license, Vehicle papers, RC, Vehicle insurance, Taxi permit papers), and Pollution under control certificate (PUC). Tourist taxis operate as taxis using a loophole in the tourist taxi rules, and this has brought more taxis to the market without following the permit route. The aggregators enabled this in a big way. This is unfair to single-owner taxis and rickshaws who wait for years to be able to pay the money to secure their permits, many of which are rented on the black market. The taxi aggregators   must avoid such practises.

The stakeholders of Taxi aggregators also have some ethical responsibilities towards the taxi aggregators. State and Central Government must frame clear rules and regulations in implement them without any partiality. Surge pricing for instance can be included to ensure good service, but this should also be duly regulated by Governments. Clear fees and fee ranges have to be set for aggregators. Rather than targeting prices, policymakers should be assessing their impact on the entry of new operators into the market. If surge pricing does indeed follow market-based models, they should attract more investors to the sector, and facilitate the entry of cab-aggregator start-ups. If the spikes in prices, however, end up consolidating the monopolistic positions of established players, then regulators should step in. Capping surge prices does little either to open the market, or prevent anti-competitive practices. Road Transport Ministry must set responsibility for the companies in the event of errant behaviour of the drivers and issue licences and permits to them. In terms of compliance, India is very weak. Even when you have rules, they are not enforced consistently. You cannot shut a service and indicate to the market that India is not ready. We have in a sense, told the rest of the world that we are not predictable. A large part of the blame can be put on our society. In a country where a large part of the population lives on the fringes, the environment in which a child grows up is appalling. As a child if you go through a lot of stress and the world has not treated you well, as an adult you end up either committing crimes or you try to suppress and become depressed. Structurally our society has a lot of problems and hanging a driver for rape and banning taxi aggregators is not going to solve our problems. We need to create sound systems and structures at the base level that provide children with an atmosphere of trust and respect so that they grow as adults to be responsible. As a nation, there is an unpredictability of performance and how policies work out. Blaming taxi aggregators entirely is deflecting the real issue and hiding our weaknesses. Women must raise a voice and file a complaint with taxi aggregators as well as in nearest police station whenever there is misbehaviour or in case of any other problem instead staying quiet. Take certain precautions when travelling alone or travelling at night.

Taxi Aggregators have disrupted the transportation industry, but it seems this “disruption” has come without a sense of organizational ethics. Taxi Aggregators have been found violating on a host of factors including lack of a registered office, permits and evasion of service tax. These were valid grounds used to ban them till the time it gets its house in order. Taxi Aggregators have faltered in checking the credentials of the drivers–their licenses, character certificates and tourist permits. The companies claim that they do not have any responsibility if a driver presents a fake certificate, license or permit. Anything can be forged in India and that is a sad reality. Taxi Aggregators claim to work directly with operators or taxi fleets who ensure that certain formalities and background checks are conducted before a driver is signed up. The drivers undergo basic training for a day or two regarding ethical behaviour, communication, traffic rules, dealing with billing discrepancies, hold driver meet-ups to provide updates & address any issues they might be facing. Drivers with bad rating are given a warning if it’s a minor issue and the driver understands his mistake. In case of major issues, the driver is either suspended for a period of time or removed from the system.

 

Taxi Aggregators help in improving city safety by eliminating the need for people to stand on the streets waiting for cabs and by reducing the number of drunk drivers on the roads. But in case of all the Taxi Aggregators Terms and Conditions specify that they are merely a technology platform which links passengers with third-party transportation providers and states “the entire risk” of using the service lies with the user. Drivers who sign up online are expected to carry their own insurance and take care of required permits and inspections required by the city where they work.

Passenger safety, better, low cost transportation along with environmental promise are some of the benefits of taxi aggregators. Uber and other ride-hailing companies have started ride-sharing to avoid the traffic, pollution and the environmental scourge of millions of single-occupancy vehicles moving around city streets.  The parking problems in big cities along with traffic congestion will also be solved and they create tens of thousands of jobs in the city. But Taxi Aggregators should also understand that social capital, driven by ethical behavior and the power of real relationships, will be an incredible driver of value in the future. Conscious Capitalism is need of the day for taxi aggregators and other stakeholders. When companies  endeavor to deliberately create purpose-driven and stakeholder- focused companies; when they do the incredibly hard work it takes to become conscious leaders and build a corporate culture that is authentic, transparent, empathetic, and engaging; in other words, when companies  remove the blinders of shareholder centricity, not only can they be more innovative, but those innovations come with ethical leadership that consistently pushes the organization to elevate the humanity of our stakeholders, not treat them with disdain and disrespect.

Taxi Aggregators have disrupted the transportation industry, but it seems this “disruption” has come without a sense of organizational ethics. Conscious Capitalism is need of the day for taxi aggregators.