In what has now become a quotidian reaction from India’s Policy makers, the Delhi Government has now banned all app-based cab services operating within city. This ‘knee-jerk’ reaction comes as a follow-up to an incident, which actually has more to do with Government’s lacklustre policy execution, rather than operations of a multinational cab company.
In a decision announced late on Monday night, the Delhi Government has not only banned Uber from operating with the National Capital Region, it has indeed banned all other app-based cab services. As a result, some 20 cab operaters will have to shut down operations leading to inconvenience to commuters in an already glutted transport system.
The transport department of Delhi government came out with a notification that said only six cab services – Easy Cab, Mega Cab, Meru Cab, Chanson Cab, Yo Cab and Air Cab – had the licence to operate radio taxis. This announcement came post the Uber ban.
Many popular cabs within the capital like the Softbank-backed Ola cabs, Taxi-for-Sure and others will have to shut down operations thus incurring huge losses, creating unemployment and causing extreme vexation to commuters.
While this whole ‘Government bans Uber’ act isn’t new for Uber, it may actually not be the solution in the New Delhi incident. There are numerous loopholes in the Government policies itself, that banning Uber or any other cab service will do no good to the cause of women safety in India.
English news channel Times Now had earlier got hold of a Clean Character Certificate issued to the arrested driver. Quite surprisingly, the certificate was issued by the Additional Commissioner of Delhi Police herself, in May this year.
