Uber rape case may lead to a ban on can services using web-based apps
After the arrest of an Uber cab driver for allegedly raping a passenger, the Delhi government has decided to ban all internet-based cab services.
Uber was banned in Delhi on Monday after a driver it hired six months ago, allegedly without proper checks, was arrested for allegedly raping a passenger on Friday.
The home ministry has called on all states and union territories to consider banning unregistered internet-based services.
Sources say in Delhi, cab services such as Ola, Taxi4Sure and TaxiPixi, which also operate through apps, are likely to be banned next.
Last night, the government put out an official list of radio cab services that have license to operate in Delhi - Easy Cab, Mega Cab, Meru Cab, Chanson Cab, Yo Cab and Air Cab.
"All other transport/taxi service providers through web-based technology, who are not recognised, are prohibited from providing such services in the NCT of Delhi to public till they get license/permission from the Transport Department," the order said, effectively saying these services have to go off the roads.
Radio taxi services are registered with the state Transport Department under a scheme that does not include cab services that operate through internet. Radio taxis, therefore, have safeguards that the others don't.
Radio taxis need to have a 24x7 call centre as well as a GPS that can track the cabs and even alert the system in case someone tries to tamper with it or turn it off. Only drivers who have transport badges issued by the government after mandatory police verification can be hired. Radio cab services also own the cabs that they operate, which is a condition for a licence to operate. But that is not the case with other services like Uber.
The police revealed that the arrested Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav was also arrested in 2011 and jailed for seven months on charges of raping a woman but was later acquitted. A certificate declaring that he had no criminal record, meant to be issued by the police, was allegedly forged.