[R-Six]

Just read about this on today's TOI.

The government has decided to scrap the requirement of having a commercial DL to drive taxis, three-wheelers, bikes etc, allowing drivers to use their private licenses for the same.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/63822859.cms

While this might give some respite for these drivers and aspirants to get to the job quickly, I'm not sure if this is a welcome move.

What do you all think of this initiative?

Drive safe,
R-Six

[alpha1]

Makes sense.
A Lot.

Originally Posted by R-Six

While this might give some respite for these drivers and aspirants to get to the job quickly, I'm not sure if this is a welcome move.

Why do you carry apprehensions about this move?
When you drive an LMV or a two / three wheeler - it is the same vehicle whether you drive for your office commute, driving pleasure or ferrying passengers.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The three-wheeler and cab segment is already awfully unorganized, unruly and law-immune. This will make it a circus. Wonder what bracket the Tempo Traveler's will come under. Else, office cabs and school buses are under threat as well.

Even if it was just a formality, with barely any stringent capability check, requiring a commercial DL meant there was at least some effort towards being a commercial driver. With that need gone, this is come-one-come-all with no regulation.

You mean the commercial driving license that was being issued till now ensured that the drivers were "more" trained and disciplined than the non-commercial drivers?
How? Anything different in the testing methodology?

[libranof1987]

This is definitely not good as it now mandates a commercial DL for only those driving a truck/bus/ heavy commercial vehicles.

The three-wheeler and cab segment is already awfully unorganized, unruly and law-immune. This will make it a circus. Wonder what bracket the Tempo Traveler's will come under. Else, office cabs and school buses are under threat as well.

Even if it was just a formality, with barely any stringent capability check, requiring a commercial DL meant there was at least some effort towards being a commercial driver. With that need gone, this is come-one-come-all with no regulation.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Why do you carry apprehensions about this move?

I had the same thoughts and concerns as libranof1987.

Originally Posted by alpha1

You mean the commercial driving license that was being issued till now ensured that the drivers were "more" trained and disciplined than the non-commercial drivers?

Well, it is unfortunate that our Govt and state RTO institutions are not giving these process the importance it actually needs. But removing such a requirement altogether can have more consequences than we can imagine.

At least on paper, before you can have a commercial DL, you should possess a valid DL for at least a year. Within that period, at least the new driver can get accustomed to the driving mannerisms as well as the general traffic behavior at least.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The three-wheeler and cab segment is already awfully unorganized, unruly and law-immune. This will make it a circus. Else, office cabs and school buses are under threat as well. Even if it was just a formality, with barely any stringent capability check, requiring a commercial DL meant there was at least some effort towards being a commercial driver. With that need gone, this is come-one-come-all with no regulation.

Completely agree with this thought.

With a lot of schools now moving towards minivans to tackle traffic on congested city roads and bylanes, I can't imagine having an 18 year old ferry our kids to school. In my opinion, they are too immature to even understand the seriousness and the huge responsibility they have when they are behind the wheels.

Also, all those Mahindra cabs and overloaded flatbed tempos that we see on the highways. How would you expect an 18 year old with no experience in driving to handle the vehicles.

[SmartCat]

If our Uber or Ola driver is feeling sleepy, we can now take over the steering wheel.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...back-home.html

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by smartcat

If our Uber or Ola driver is feeling sleepy, we can now take over the steering wheel.

This is the only advantage I could see from the latest decision.

May be, the Govt. read about our inhibitions and worries about the legal side of getting caught while taking over the wheel during such situations and came up with this amendment to help us as well as those sleepy cab drivers.



Ride Safe,
R-Six

[locusjag]

I've read so often in recent times that Uber has been lobbying heavily with Mr.Nitin Gadkari and his ministry to allow everyone with a "private" DL to be a cab driver and for "personal/private" cars to be allowed to ply as cabs for hire. Uber has always hated the excessive regulations surrounding cabs and cab-driving in India.

Here's one such article that I could currently dig out, for reference:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/busin...KZPuQua7N.html

So has their lobbying begun to bear fruit?

[ritz3645]

Difference between LMV and LMV-T is the unladen Tonnage of the vehicle. Less than 7500 kg in LMV and anything more is LMV-T.

Source :

Driver Holding LMV Licence Can Drive Transport Vehicle Of Such Class Without Any Endorsement: SC [Read Judgment]...

Read more at: http://www.livelaw.in/driver-holding...read-judgment/

[locusjag]

Actually, when I thought about the ramifications of this development, I see a huge business opportunity for rental trucks, along the lines of U-Haul in the US.

If I can drive trucks weighing less than 7.5 tonnes, I can hypothetically rent a light truck (like a Tata Ace) or a medium weight truck (a Tata 407 maybe?) to shift my household. I would then do the manual work myself with help from friends/family to lift the heavy stuff and save big time on labor costs.

Or let's say I bought a sofa from someone via olx, I can transport it to my home cheaply with a rented Tata Ace.

I've rented and driven pick-up trucks, 10 foot trucks (based on the Ford F-150 chassis) and 12 foot trucks (based on the Ford F-250 chassis) in the US for moving homes, after purchasing furnitures etc. It's a great choice to have.

Hoping for Zoomcar or somebody to cash in on this huge business opportunity.

[ACM]

So there have been times (3) when I felt the private taxi driver hired by me drove quite badly so I made him sit on the side and drove instead. I knew that it was technically illegal. No longer. Yay..

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by locusjag

So has their lobbying begun to bear fruit?

If the Transport Ministry circular which was posted in another thread can be read, it clearly says that a Supreme Court judgement is the reason behind this change.

[wildsdi5530]

In Bangalore you can drive a cab with a friend's or brother's transport license. With this new rule, any license may be used?
Yes it does make shifting easier if you can drive your own pickup truck, but how often is that going to be? Also what happens to all the packers and movers and delivery guys?
I think commercial license rules must be made more stringent and violations curbed effectively. Of course the number of private vehicles is many times that of commercial vehicles, but on the road, the commercial vehicles win. Their average running is many times a private drivers' running.
When at work you are expected to maintain a certain decorum. Commercial drivers should treat the road as their office and not like their bathroom.

[jetsetgo08]

So, essentially anyone could now drive a yellow-plate car. In a way, it seems car-pooling is now legalized from a business perspective.

[Hawkeye269]

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sent an advisory to all State governments to the effect that drivers holding a private driving licence will no longer need a commercial driving licence, specifically an LMV-TR (Transporters) Driving License, in order to operate taxis, autorickshaws, e-rickshaws and two-wheelers (see: "No commercial driving licence needed for taxis, autos: govt.").

“The requirement under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to obtain the transport licence would arise in case of medium/ heavy goods and passenger vehicles only. No other vehicle will require any separate endorsement, even if they are used for commercial purposes,” said the advisory issued on April 16. The exemption is in place for motorcycles without gear, motorcycles with gear, light motor vehicles (goods/passenger) and e-rickshaws/e-carts.

The clarification comes on the heels of a July 2017 Supreme Court order which provided that a regular driving licence was sufficient to ply light motor vehicles for commercial purposes, and that a separate endorsement was not required.

[Joe-Ker]

There are two sides to this.
1) This will put an end to terrorism by cops on people driving a taxi.
2) The commercial badge is awarded after more rigorous tests than the ordinary license (which can be had in many Indian states without even going for the test) so the quality of taxi drivers will go down even more.

What we urgently require is
1) strict driving test, where civic sense is also taught and tested.
2) mobility for vehicles and drivers across states (to reduce further RTO and law enforcement terrorism on out of state vehicles).