As Delhi gears up to regulate the booming app-based taxi service, it has plenty to learn from other countries. While the Philippines has come out with a policy to govern 'transportation network companies', China is throwing its regulatory norms out of the window to come up with a completely new set of rules to regulate app-based taxi services "The key to any policy though, should be acknowledging that commercial transport apps and taxis are different, and a single policy cannot be created for both," said Philippe Crist of the International Transport Forum. The ITF, which provides consultancy on transport to EU countries as well as India, has been working on regulating app-based taxi services since last year. On Wednesday, ITF released the report which looks at the basic guidelines for regulating taxi aggregators. The report could be of interest to the Delhi transport department which has been working on a policy for taxi aggregators. After the run-in that the aggregators had with the Delhi government over surge pricing during the second phase of 'odd-even' scheme, the department had vowed to come out with a policy that would not only regulate them but also offer a level playing field to traditional taxi services. The need to come up with a separate policy came up after the Radio Taxi Policy 2006, which was revised for app-based services in 2015, failed to rein them in. But Crist clearly makes a point for differentiating between traditional taxi services and the aggregators. "Some form of regulation needs to be in place, especially in terms of safety and consumer rights. But perhaps not the same set of rules for both commercial transport apps (CTAs) and taxis," said Crist. He pointed out that keeping the same fare structure for both may prove counter-productive. Instead, the ITF suggests a holistic look at the two segments, especially that of app-based taxi service. While some rules can apply generally as focus areas, there is also need for specific rules. As per the report, most important point though, is that the regulation and its impact should be monitored and re-assessed and it should be adaptable. "Data is important. Based on the data, like the number of drivers in city, the training levels, areas of use and other factors, the regulation can be drawn up," added Crist. The advice could be important in the face of fast innovations in app-based taxi services. In fact, competition in the segment has given rise to new competitors, like Ola in India. Companies are even tying up with other firms, like Lyft with GM which announced a partnership to develop self-driving app-based taxi service recently.

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