Cracking the whip on taxi and cab drivers for surge pricing, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that his government would not tolerate “daylight robbery” and “blackmailing” by taxi aggregators during the car-rationing scheme.
As of Wednesday till 1.30 p.m., the government had impounded 50 cabs.
Mr. Kejriwal said some taxi operators were resorting to blackmailing, saying they would not provide cabs if they were not allowed to loot and made it clear that his government would not allow it.
All the cab drivers were found overcharging. Of these, 35 cabs are registered outside Delhi. After several complaints of overcharging by taxis and cabs during peak hours, despite the government’s threat to cancel the licence of cab services if they didn’t suspend the raising fares during peak traffic hours, Mr. Kejriwal said strict action would be taken against the owners. On Monday and Tuesday, the government impounded at least 43 cabs after complaints of overcharging in the name of surge pricing.
“Some taxis saying they will not provide cabs if they are not allowed to loot. This is open blackmailing n govt will not let that happen. Overcharging, diesel cars, drivers without license/badges n blackmailing by taxi aggregators won’t be allwed,” he said in a series of tweets.
Criticising media reports for writing off the odd-even scheme as a “failure,” Mr. Kejriwal said some media houses have invested in taxi aggregators. “Some media houses supporting surge pricing. One of these media houses has Rs. 150 cr investment in one of these taxi aggregators,” he tweeted.
