Gender choice option required in the app, you will also be able to give tip to the driver; New guidelines issued
New Delhi . Soon you will get the option to choose a driver of the same gender to book a ride from a cab in apps like Ola, Uber and Rapido. You will also be able to give a tip to the driver after completion of the trip. The driver will receive the entire amount of this tip. The purpose of these rules is to increase the safety of passengers. Especially for female passengers, there will be facility to choose female driver. The government has made changes in the Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines, 2025. States have been asked to implement it.
No clear effective date has been given in the notification yet, hence it is considered effective from the date of its issue. When the original guidelines for motor vehicle aggregators were released in July 2025, states were given 3 months to adopt them. Something similar may happen for amendment, but no fixed timeline has been given yet. These guidelines are from the Central Government. State governments will incorporate these amendments into their licensing process. Aggregators will have to update their app, such as adding the feature of choosing drivers of the same gender as per clause 15.6. Companies must comply to maintain or renew licenses. If not done, the license may be suspended or cancelled. In practice, it may take some time for companies to make changes to the app, but compliance is mandatory.
Currently, the number of women drivers in the country is less than 5 percent.
On the government’s decision, industry experts say that it may be challenging to implement. An official associated with cab aggregator platforms said, at present the share of women among the total cab drivers in the entire country is less than 5 percent. In such a situation, the option of choosing a driver of the same gender does not seem practical. This will affect the nature of on-demand service. Due to the shortage of female drivers, waiting times during booking can increase significantly, especially late at night when demand is high and drivers are less available. Uber, Ola and Rapido have declined to comment at this time.
