It was touted as a device that would ensure safety of passengers in public transport. More than four years after the government announced that all passenger vehicles in the Capital would have to install global positioning system (GPS), a large number of auto-rickshaws, taxis and buses are running without it. Senior Transport Department officials said auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers have been opposing the government’s move to make GPS mandatory.
“We gave deadlines, made it mandatory to obtain annual fitness certificate, but there was a hue and cry from auto-rickshaw and taxi unions. There have been enforcement issues but we will ensure that all passenger vehicles have GPS,” a senior transport official said.
Linked with a control room, the GPS device tracks the movement of the vehicle through satellite. Officials said the movement of a GPS-fitted vehicle can still be tracked even if the device is turned off.
The device comes with a panic button, which, if pressed, alerts the back-end team in the control room. Officials said the device can ensure the safety of passengers, especially women, travelling alone during late night hours.
Of 80,000-odd auto-rickshaws running in the Capital, only half of them are fitted with GPS.
The Transport Department recently made it mandatory for about 6,000-odd black-and-yellow taxis to install GPS but extended the deadline following protest from taxi owners. Thousands of private taxis running on city and national permit in the Capital, which can be flagged by commuters along the roadside, do not have the GPS device and panic button.
The victim of Thursday night’s sexual assault was travelling in one such private taxi, which she flagged outside a mall in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden where she worked as a salesperson in one of the shops.
The taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers’ associations, however, allege that installing the GPS device and panic button will do little to make travel safer for commuters.
“The Transport Department does not have a mechanism to trace the movement of our vehicles through GPS. The data centre that they have in Kashmere Gate is only for government buses. The panic button too does not send alert. It would have been useful if it alerted the local police or the Transport Department. That is why we are protesting against installation of GPS in our vehicles,” said an auto-rickshaw driver.
