GTB

Terms & Conditions

Last updated

Effective 3 September 2026

These terms govern your use of the GTB apps and this website. By booking a ride, or by driving on the platform, you accept them.

1. Who you are contracting with

  • Operator: GoTravelBuddies Private Limited
  • GSTIN: 19AANCG1905A1ZW
  • Registered office: 237/B, Dr Akshay Paul Road, PO Behala, PS Parnasree (near Behala Municipal Market Sub Post Office), Behala, Kolkata 700034, West Bengal, India

We operate under the Guidelines notified by the Government of West Bengal, Transport Department (No. 652-WT/3M-17/2021) regulating On Demand Transportation Technologies Aggregators.

2. What GTB is

GTB is an aggregator: a digital marketplace that connects a passenger with a driver for the purpose of transportation. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 1(b)] The transport service itself is provided by the driver, using a vehicle integrated with our platform. We are responsible for the platform, for the checks the guidelines require us to make, and for the obligations set out below.

Vehicles on the platform

All motor vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 may be integrated, except e-rickshaws, auto rickshaws and vehicles covered under Stage Carriage permits. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 2]

3. Your account

  • You must be 18 or older and provide accurate details.
  • One account per person. Keep your device and your account secure; you are responsible for bookings made from it.
  • You may close your account at any time from Delete Account in the app or at https://gotravelbuddies.in/en/delete-account.
  • We may suspend or close an account that is used unlawfully, fraudulently, or in a way that puts a driver or another rider at risk.

4. Fares

  • The base fare is the city taxi fare notified by the Transport Department, Government of West Bengal for the current year. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 13(1)]
  • We may charge up to 50% below the base fare, and surge pricing is capped at 50% above it. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 13(2)]
  • The owner or driver receives at least 80% of the fare for each ride; the remainder is ours. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 13(3)]
  • No dead mileage is charged — except where the distance to reach you exceeds 3 km — and the fare runs only from the point of boarding to the point of alighting. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 13(4)]
  • Tolls, parking, state levies and applicable taxes are added where they arise.

We publish our base fare, surge rate, the proportion of the fare payable to the driver, driver incentives and any charges collected from drivers on this website and in the app, and keep those disclosures current. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(7)]

5. Cancellations

5.1 If you cancel

Cancelling for one of the reasons listed in the app costs nothing. Cancelling without one, after booking and before the waiting time has elapsed, carries a charge of 10% of the total fare, capped at ₹100. It is shown as a debit against your account and collected with your next booking. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 14(2)]

5.2 If the driver cancels

Where a driver cancels after accepting your ride without a valid reason, 10% of the total fare, capped at ₹100, is credited to your GTB account and set against your next ride. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 14(1)]

5.3 If the car does not arrive

If the vehicle fails to reach you within the waiting time stated at booking and you cancel after that time has passed, no cancellation charge applies. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(i)]

6. Ride pooling

  • Pooling is offered only between riders whose KYC we hold, travelling along the same route with different stops. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 11(1)]
  • Female passengers may choose to pool only with other female passengers. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 11(2)]
  • Pooling stays within a limited detour from the route set by the first rider in the vehicle. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 11(3)]

7. Safety

  • Every vehicle carries an AIS 140 certified tracking system with a panic button, connected to our control room, which operates 24×7. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 8(11) and 9(12)]
  • Vehicles carry a fire extinguisher, a disabled child lock and a manual override on the central locking, and display the permit and a copy of the driving licence inside. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 8(12)–8(15)]
  • You are asked to confirm the driver matches the one shown in the app at the start of every trip. Do not travel if they do not. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 10(4)]
  • You can share your live location and ride status from the app. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(8)]
  • Drivers take the shortest route assigned in the app; a departure from it flags to our control room, which contacts the driver and tells you what changed. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 10(2)]

Zero tolerance on drugs and alcohol

We operate a zero-tolerance policy on the use of drugs or alcohol by any driver. If you reasonably suspect your driver is under the influence, report it through the app or the call centre. On receiving such a complaint we take the driver off the platform immediately after a first-look enquiry, and they remain off it for the whole of the investigation. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(11)]

8. Ratings

Riders rate drivers and drivers rate riders after each trip. A driver whose rating falls below the second percentile must complete a Remedial Training Programme, and is off-boarded until they do. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(l) and 7(2)(m)]

9. Payment

  • The fare is due on completion of the trip, by the method you selected.
  • An outstanding cancellation charge is collected with your next booking. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 14(2)]
  • Refunds for a failed or duplicated payment are returned to the original payment method.

10. If you drive with us

These terms apply alongside your Service Provider Contract, which is executed in English and in a language you understand and sets out the rights and obligations of both parties. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 1(t) and 7(1)(h)]

10.1 Before you are onboarded

  • Valid proof of identity — EPIC, AADHAAR or PAN. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(a)]
  • A valid driving licence for the class of vehicle, and a badge where applicable. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(b)]
  • At least two years of driving experience. Between one and two years, you must first complete driver training of 15 days and at least 60 hours, which we facilitate. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(c)]
  • A bank account meeting Reserve Bank of India norms. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(d)]
  • No conviction in the past three years for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or for any cognizable offence under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 — including fraud, a sexual offence, use of a motor vehicle to commit a cognizable offence, property damage or theft, acts of violence or acts of terror. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(e)]
  • A complete medical examination including an eye check-up, at our cost. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(f)]
  • A complete police verification of your identity and antecedents, on written record, completed before onboarding. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(1)(g)]
  • The Induction Training Programme — five days, thirty hours, compliant with the National Skills Qualifications Framework, including six hours of road safety and first responder training, and covering gender sensitization and the safety of women and girl children. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 5(2)]

10.2 While you drive with us

  • Health insurance of not less than ₹5 lakh and term life insurance of not less than ₹10 lakh, on a 2021-22 base and rising 5% each year, arranged by us. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(a) and 7(2)(b)]
  • A Refresher Training Programme once a year — at least two days, ten hours. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 1(q) and 7(2)(c)]
  • Hours logged in are capped as provided in the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, with a mandatory ten-hour break each day. The cap counts hours across every aggregator you drive for. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(e) and 7(2)(f)]
  • You may drive for more than one aggregator. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(j)]
  • Reach the rider within the time stated at booking. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(i)]
  • On termination of the contract, our equipment and brand stickers are removed from the vehicle and the identity card or authorisation we issued is returned. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 7(2)(k)]

10.3 Your vehicle

Registration, permit, fitness certificate, insurance under section 146 of the Act, and a valid Pollution Under Control certificate must all be current, and pending motor vehicle cases must be cleared. Emission norms of BS IV or above apply to a motor cab, BS III or above to other vehicles. The registration mark must be displayed inside the vehicle where riders can see it, and an 'APP CAB' roof sign fitted, visible front and rear. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 8]

11. Non-discrimination

Vehicles we own are treated on a par with vehicles we do not, once integrated with the platform. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 12]

12. Grievance redressal

Our call centre operates 24×7 in English, Bengali and Hindi. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(13)]

  • Consumer services telephone: +91 87955 00787
  • Email: info@gotravelbuddies.in
  • Nodal Officer: +91 87955 00787 — info@gotravelbuddies.in

Raise a complaint about a ride or driver within 24 hours of the trip; we enquire into it within 24 hours of it being lodged. Where the complaint is criminal in nature, the window extends to 72 hours and the driver is off-boarded until the matter is resolved. You can call us about a trip through the app for three months after it, and the assigned driver's direct number is available to you for at least 24 hours. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(13)]

13. Your data

How we handle your information is set out in our Privacy Policy. In short: app data is stored on a server in West Bengal, kept for between three and twenty-four months, and never disclosed to anyone other than law enforcement agencies without your written consent. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 9(4)]

14. Limits on our responsibility

We are responsible for operating the platform and for the obligations the guidelines place on us as an aggregator. The journey itself is performed by the driver. We are not liable for delay, loss or damage arising from events outside our reasonable control — traffic, weather, road closures, or acts of a public authority. Nothing here limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or end your access where these terms are broken, where the safety of a rider, driver or the public is at risk, or where the law or our licence requires it. You may stop using GTB at any time and delete your account as described in section 3.

16. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India. The courts at Kolkata, West Bengal have jurisdiction. Any violation of the ODTTA Guidelines attracts the provisions of section 193 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Competent Authority may impose the resulting fine or penalty. [ODTTA Guidelines, clause 16]

17. Changes to these terms

We update these terms when our service or the rules governing it change. The date at the top reflects the current version, and material changes are notified in the app before they take effect.

18. Contact

  • info@gotravelbuddies.in
  • +91 87955 00787
  • 237/B, Dr Akshay Paul Road, PO Behala, PS Parnasree (near Behala Municipal Market Sub Post Office), Behala, Kolkata 700034, West Bengal, India