The websites and mobile apps of taxi aggregators Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola Cabs have been blocked following a request from the Delhi Government.
The Department of Telecom has issued a notice to Internet Service Providers to block the websites in Delhi and asked for a compliance report.
The Delhi Government wrote to the Department of Electronics & Information Technology in March this year that despite the ban, Uber, Ola Cabs and TaxiForSure were booking passengers through their apps.
The Association of Radio Taxis has welcomed the DoT’s notice, saying it was a much-awaited move as the app-based taxi aggregators were flouting all norms of security and operating cabs in the Capital in violation of rules and regulation.
Association president Kunal Lalani said the app-based taxi services were operating in Delhi without getting licence from the State transport authorities on the pretext of functioning as the technology companies. Blocking of their websites was a step in the right direction, he added.
PTI adds
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued a letter to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block websites of taxi operators Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola Cabs. A DoT official has confirmed sending the notice to ISPs to block the websites of these firms in Delhi and send a compliance report on the same.
“There was a request from the Delhi government to block these websites... an order regarding the ban was issued two three days back,” the official said.
“All internet service licences are accordingly directed to immediately block the access to the URLs,” the DoT order said.
According to sources, DoT ordered blocking the websites under the powers conferred to it by Section 69A of Information Technology Act, 2000 and Information Technology (Procedures and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.
The official said that following a request from the Delhi government, a committee was formed to look into the matter. The committee recommended blocking the apps and Department of Electronic & Information Technology (DeitY) asked DoT to issue the order regarding the same.
However, despite the ban, people are still able to access the services of these operators.
“These sites can not be blocked because of technical issues. We have already given representation to government earlier. This was a general representation. We are giving compliance except in https sites,” Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) president Rajesh Chharia said.
He added that DoT had itself accepted that there was a need to set up a committee to discuss modalities around blocking of https sites around 3-4 months back.
The Delhi government had written to DeitY in March that despite the ban, Uber, Ola Cabs and TaxiForSure continue to book passengers through their apps.
All app-based cab services were banned in the Capital last year after a driver of Uber, a US-based online taxi-hailing company, was allegedly accused of raping a female passenger.
