Terms of Use

These Terms are an agreement between you and XQ Tech Solutions, a sole proprietorship of Ashok Kumar G, Nattukal, Kozhinjampara, Palakkad, Kerala 678554, India (“Ride Kerala”, “we”, “us”). They apply when you use the Ride Kerala app (riders), the RK Captain app (drivers), the trip-share page or any related service (together, the “Services”).

By creating an account or using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

Contents

1. Who can use the Services
2. Our role
3. Your account
4. Rules for riders
5. Fares and payment
6. Rules for drivers
7. Driver wallet
8. Safety features
9. No guarantees
10. Limit of liability
11. Your responsibility to us
12. Suspension and closing accounts
13. Content and conduct
14. Our app and brand
15. Complaints and grievances
16. Governing law
17. Changes and general terms

1. Who can use the Services

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract under Indian law.
• You may hold only one account per app, and you must not use someone else's account.
• The Services are offered in the areas shown in the app (currently Palakkad, Kerala) and may change.

2. Our role

• We provide software that lets riders find nearby drivers, request a ride and follow it, and lets drivers receive and manage ride requests.
• Drivers are independent. They are not our employees, agents or partners. Each driver owns or controls their vehicle, holds their own licence, permit and registration, and provides the transport service directly to the rider.
• The contract for the ride itself is between the rider and the driver. We are not a transport operator and do not provide transport services ourselves.
• We check the documents drivers upload (driving licence, registration certificate, vehicle photo and selfie) before they can take rides. This check is limited to those documents. It is not a guarantee of a driver's skill, conduct, background or the vehicle's condition.
• Where transport or aggregator rules apply to us, we follow them. Nothing in these Terms takes away rights the law gives you.

3. Your account

• Give true, current and complete information, and keep it up to date.
• Keep your sign-in details and devices secure. You are responsible for everything done through your account unless you tell us promptly that it was misused.
• You agree to receive service messages (sign-in codes, ride updates and safety alerts) by WhatsApp, SMS, push notification, phone call or email.

4. Rules for riders

• Be at the pickup point on time, answer the driver's call, and give the driver the trip code only when you are in the vehicle.
• Treat drivers with respect. No violence, harassment, abuse, discrimination, smoking or alcohol in the vehicle.
• Do not carry illegal, dangerous or prohibited items, and do not ask the driver to break traffic rules.
• You are responsible for any damage you or your companions cause to the vehicle.
• If you book for someone else, you are responsible for their conduct, and you confirm that they agreed to share their name and phone number with the driver.
• Cancelling often or not showing up may lead to limits on your account, as explained in the app.

5. Fares and payment

• The fare is worked out from the fare card that applies to the driver (set with the local auto unions) and the distance. It is shown before you book.
• The fare shown when you book is the fare for that ride. If you change the trip on the way, or tolls or parking apply, the driver may ask for the extra and must explain it.
• Riders pay the driver directly, by UPI or cash. We do not collect the fare and do not hold riders' money. Any dispute about payment is between the rider and the driver, but you can report it to us and we will help where we can.
• Fares and the fare rules may change. The fare shown when you book is the one that applies to that ride.

6. Rules for drivers

• You must hold, and keep valid at all times, a driving licence for your vehicle, a PSV badge, the vehicle's registration certificate, a valid permit, insurance, a pollution certificate, a fitness certificate and any other document the law requires. Ride Kerala may ask you to upload any of them in the app by a date. If your driving licence, or a document we asked for, is missing or has expired after that date, you are taken offline and get no ride requests until a new copy is approved. You must tell us at once if any of them is suspended or cancelled.
• You must follow the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, traffic rules, permit conditions and the fare rules shown in the app. Do not ask riders for more than the fare shown, except lawful extra charges you explain to them.
• You decide when to go online and which requests to accept. You provide rides as an independent service provider and are responsible for your own taxes, expenses, fuel, maintenance and insurance.
• You must keep your vehicle clean, safe and roadworthy, and the person driving must be the person on the account.
• While you are online or on a trip, the app collects your location, including in the background (see the Privacy Policy).
• You must keep riders' phone numbers and trip details private and use them only for the ride.
• Union membership details you give must be true.

7. Driver wallet

• Drivers keep a prepaid wallet with Ride Kerala. It is used only to pay Ride Kerala's flat software fee for rides arranged through the app, by the plan you choose (per ride, or a day pass). It is never a share of the fare. The current amounts are shown in the app before they apply.
• You can change your plan in the app. After you take a ride on a day pass, you can go back to per ride only from the next day's reset, as shown in the app.
• The fee is taken when you tap Customer Confirmed. If the ride is then cancelled and it was not your fault (for example, the rider cancelled or did not come), you can ask for the fee back in the app within 48 hours. Our team checks and decides.
• Top-ups are made through Razorpay. The wallet cannot be used to pay anyone else, cannot be transferred, earns no interest and is not a bank account or payment wallet.
• You may need a minimum balance to go online, as shown in the app.
• We may correct wrong entries.
• Wallet credits are not refundable, also when a driver account is closed. Top up only what you need.

8. Safety features

• The app offers safety tools: an SOS button that alerts Ride Kerala support and lets you call your emergency contact or 112, trip sharing, the trip code, and ways to report a problem.
• These tools help, but they do not guarantee your safety and do not replace emergency services. In an emergency, call 112 (police 100, ambulance 108).
• Our support team responds as quickly as it can, but we cannot promise a response time or that alerts will always get through (for example without mobile signal).

9. No guarantees

• We work to keep the Services reliable, but they are provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not promise that a driver will be available, that a ride will start or end at a particular time, or that the Services will always work without errors or interruptions.
• Maps, routes, distances, arrival times and fare estimates come partly from third parties and from GPS, so they may not always be exact.
• We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of drivers, riders or other third parties. That includes their driving, behaviour, belongings or payments, except where the law makes us responsible.

10. Limit of liability

• To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, including lost earnings, lost opportunities, lost data or loss of goodwill.
• To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for all claims connected with the Services is limited to the higher of (a) the fees you paid to Ride Kerala in the 3 months before the claim, or (b) ₹1,000.
• Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Indian law, including for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence.

11. Your responsibility to us

You agree to make good any loss, damage, claim, penalty or reasonable legal cost that Ride Kerala suffers because you broke these Terms or the law, misused the Services, or caused harm to another user or a third party. This does not apply to the extent the loss was caused by our own fault.

12. Suspension and closing accounts

• We may limit, suspend or close an account, or refuse service, if we reasonably believe it is needed for safety, to prevent fraud or misuse, because of serious or repeated complaints, because documents are invalid, because these Terms or the law were broken, or because a government authority requires it. Where it is safe and lawful, we will tell you why and give you a chance to respond.
• You can stop using the Services at any time and ask us to delete your account. See How to delete your account.
• Sections on fares owed, the driver wallet, liability, your responsibility to us and governing law continue after an account is closed.

13. Content and conduct

• Ratings, comments, complaints and photos you submit must be honest and lawful. They must not be abusive, obscene, defamatory or misleading, must not infringe anyone's rights, and must not contain anything prohibited by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• You give us permission to use what you submit to run and improve the Services and to resolve complaints.
• You must not misuse the Services. For example: no fake bookings, no harassing other users, no copying, reverse engineering or overloading the apps, no automated access, and no attempts to get around fares, fees or security.
• We may remove content or act on reports as the law requires.

14. Our app and brand

The apps, the Ride Kerala name and logo, and all related software and content belong to XQ Tech Solutions or its licensors. We give you a personal, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the apps for their intended purpose. Map data belongs to Google and OpenStreetMap contributors under their own terms.

15. Complaints and grievances

• For ride problems, use Report a problem in the app, call or WhatsApp support on +91 62354 55560, or email [email protected].
• Grievance Officer (Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules; Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020): Ashok Kumar G (Founder), XQ Tech Solutions, Nattukal, Kozhinjampara, Palakkad, Kerala 678554, India. Email: [email protected].
• We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days.

16. Governing law

• These Terms are governed by the laws of India.
• Before going to court, please contact our Grievance Officer so we can try to resolve the matter. If it is not resolved within 30 days, either side may take it further.
• Subject to the above, the courts at Palakkad, Kerala have exclusive jurisdiction. This does not affect your right to approach a Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

17. Changes and general terms

• We may change these Terms or the Services. For important changes we will tell you in the app before they take effect. If you keep using the Services after that, the new Terms apply.
• If any part of these Terms is found invalid, the rest stays in force.
• If we do not enforce a right straight away, we have not given it up.
• You may not transfer your account or these Terms. We may transfer them to a company that takes over the Services.
• We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as network or power failures, natural disasters, strikes or government action.
• These Terms, the Privacy Policy and the rules shown in the app are the whole agreement between you and us about the Services.