Punjab has updated the Motor Vehicles Ordinance of 1965 to bring app-based ride-hailing services under a formal regulatory framework for the first time, a step experts described as overdue given that the original legislation could not have anticipated smartphone-based dispatch or platform work models. However, the newly introduced Section 44B has drawn immediate concern from analysts who argue it places a disproportionate and practically unworkable compliance burden on individual drivers rather than on the platforms that manage them.
Under Section 44B, drivers are required to obtain route permits that are both district-specific and platform-specific. Experts said this dual requirement fundamentally misunderstands how urban ride-hailing operates in practice, since trips in any major Punjab city routinely cross district boundaries and drivers frequently use multiple apps simultaneously to maintain sustainable incomes. The effect of the current framework is that a vehicle could be classified as operating without a valid permit the moment it crosses a district line, creating what critics described as an automatically unenforceable compliance regime across Punjab’s more than 30 districts. The administrative consequences compound the problem: drivers would need to apply for permits at multiple Regional Transport Authority offices in different districts and pay recurring renewal fees for each, a burden that analysts said would strain those already affected by inflation and fuel price volatility and could push smaller or independent drivers out of the formal sector entirely.
As a practical alternative, experts proposed a single province-wide permit model under which a driver registered and verified once would be authorised to operate across Punjab regardless of district boundaries or platform affiliation. Proponents of this model argue it would preserve the regulatory objective of accountability and oversight while eliminating the administrative fragmentation that the district-specific framework creates. They also suggested the province-wide approach could serve as a template for other provincial governments currently considering how to regulate the ride-hailing sector, given that similar challenges around cross-boundary operations and multi-app driver behaviour exist in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well. Punjab’s experience with Section 44B, whether it proceeds as drafted or is revised following industry feedback, is likely to shape the direction of ride-hailing regulation across Pakistan in the near term.
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