Representatives of taxi unions on Monday gave several suggestions to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot for consideration at a stakeholders’ meeting held in relation to the draft of the City Taxi Scheme, 2017. The suggestions ranged from fixing minimum fares for taxis to registration of cab aggregators operating in Delhi.
The Transport department had invited suggestions to firm up the regulatory framework before putting it up for public consultation. “The meeting was fruitful and some interesting suggestions were received, which will be considered for incorporation in the draft of the taxi scheme,” said a senior government official.
Legal curbs
The City Taxi Scheme, 2017, is a regulatory framework that will oversee the operation of cabs in Delhi.
It is in the process of being reviewed at the higher levels of the city’s administrative circles and expected to be notified soon.
In addition to legal curbs on shared rides aboard cabs, the scheme will also institute caps on fares as well as limit the total number of vehicles that can be operated by them, said an official.
The representatives said that they also suggested four categories of taxis instead of the economy and luxury bifurcation. “We suggested two additional ones that is luxury and SUV categories,” said Inderjeet Singh, president of the Rajdhani Parivahan Panchayat.
Sanjay Samraṭ, president of the Delhi Taxi Tourist Transporters Association, suggested that all taxis registered under the All India Tourist Permit (AITP) category shouldn’t be allowed to be attached with cab aggregation service providers.
“We also suggested that AITP taxis should get a nine-year permit and city taxis should have a limited number as it raises concern of pollution and traffic. Also, the CNG taxis should have a renewed permit after five years,” Mr. Samrat said.
