<span style="color: #222222;">Department of Consumer Affairs has directed all ride-hailing companies to become convergence partners in the National Consumer Helpline. This is to enable better grievance redressal for consumers and also compliance with Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and E-commerce Rules, 2020. The direction was given during a meeting chaired by Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs Rohit Kumar Singh with major online ride-hailing platforms to discuss major issues which affect consumers in this sector. All online ride-hailing platforms were advised to respond to the concerns of commuters with utmost priority and take remedial steps to ensure adequate protection of consumer rights. The meeting was attended by major ride-hailing platforms including Ola, Uber, Rapido, Meru Cabs, and Jugnoo.<br />''<br />''The major grievances highlighted during the meeting were a lack of proper response from customer support, and driver refusing to take payment by online mode, and insisting on a cash only. The higher amount charged despite going on the same route previously at a lesser charge was also among the grievances.<br />''<br />''During the interactions, the companies claimed to have a robust mechanism of redressal of consumer grievances. They however assured us that concerns raised in the meeting will be taken into consideration.</span><br />