operating public transport services. This would assure women commuters of more comfort and greater safety. However, most vehicles have been designed for men. Women-friendly design, particularly, of the driving area and seats in vehicles would make it much easier for women drivers to become a part of the transportation sector. The Government of India is promoting e-vehicles; and especially for public transport or paratransit vehicles. Vehicles designed for both men and women drivers will promote gender inclusivity and safety for all women. One such element was the height of the vehicle floor from the road. Until some years ago, all the buses in cities were'rural' buses with very high floors and steps at entry and exit gates. Now,'urban' buses have been brought into cities and they have a low floor to road height with no or fewer steps. Women, the elderly and children can get in and out much more easily. Thus, women-friendly design of public transport or paratransit vehicles is important for inclusivity. 5.4 Regular appraisals of legal provisions that encourage an increase in shared mobility The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 specifies two types of community transport—stage carriage and contract carriage. A stage carriage is a shared vehicle that runs on predefined routes with multiple stops to pick up and drop passengers. A contract carriage provides a service between a fixed origin and destination. Currently shared mobility operators work with'contract carriages', but this may be an issue with ride-sharing services where vehicles need to pick up passengers along the way and drop them at different points. A mix of stage and contract carriage permit provisions are needed for shared services. Some states, like Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, licence shared mobility vehicles as stage carriages. Further, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 prohibits people from earning profits from private vehicles, and so it does not permit the Uber type of shared services because personal vehicles may not be legally used by owners for commercial purposes. But, car-pooling or ride-sharing and bike-sharing services are more attractive to lower-income households for whom ride-hailing services are too expensive. The'Taxi Policy Guidelines' by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(2016) stated that the taxi permit system Guidelines' by the Ministry of Road Transport and Smart mobility in India from an equity perspective should be liberalised and sharing of personal and commercial vehicles should be recognised(BPAC, 2020). BPAC(2020) states that the Motor Vehicles Act(1988) had no provisions for shared mobility. However, recent amendments in 2019 have redefined cab-aggregators as digital intermediaries or market places. Prior to this, these aggregators were expected to comply with the IT Act 2000. The guidelines now include smart and shared mobility in India in 2020(PIB, 2020). The guidelines allow states to create schemes and issue permits to such schemes to promote first and last mile connectivity, reduce congestion, improve transport and safety, better utilise transport assets, increase mobility and accessibility for people, and so on. This legislation covers passenger as well as transport for delivery of goods, etc. The new guidelines of 2020 have taken many steps in the right direction. They allow the use of personal vehicles for smart mobility services if they offer a maximum of four intra­city trips per day. Two-wheeler taxi permits have also been allowed as they are more likely to be affordable, and accessible to economically lower income groups. Women, elderly and children will, however, be less likely to avail these services. Ride-sharing has been allowed and women may choose if they want to travel with women only. The guidelines reduce the confusion in the case of interstate travel policy variations as different states have different rules regarding shared/ smart mobility options. However, the guidelines still allow states a lot of room for individual state priorities while working within the centrally defined regulatory system. For example, states are allowed to make rules regarding the propulsion system of vehicles used for shared and smart mobility and all service providers will have to follow them. Recently, the Government of Delhi has proposed the Recently, the Government of Delhi has proposed the Motor Vehicles Act Aggregator Scheme, 2022 which mandates a shift to electric vehicles among e-commerce, 17