Taxi-hailing firm Uber said it has applied for a radio taxi licence in Delhi and hoped to resume its operations after a one-and-half month ban following rape allegations against one of its drivers.
The firm’s plan to apply for the licence is a climb-down from its long-standing stance that it is just a technology provider, not a transport operator, and so traditional radio taxi regulations don’t apply to it.
Experts feel Uber’s move brings in a lot of clarity and sets a precedent for firms acting as aggregators across various sectors. “This can be considered a landmark move. Now, they can be held responsible if things go wrong and they cannot take cover saying they are technology providers. Other States and countries can also follow suit across sectors,” Ramesh Vaidyanathan, managing partner, Advaya Legal, said.
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However, Uber maintained that the move did not change its business model. “Uber is not a radio taxi company…While we have applied for a licence under the amended Radio Taxi scheme, we remain a technology company. The licence simply allows radio taxis to operate on our platform, just as we do in many other jurisdictions (e.g. Hong Kong/Singapore),” a spokesperson said in an email response.
More safety measures
Uber said it would introduce additional safety measures, including more stringent driver checks, an in-app emergency button and a dedicated incident response team.
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Mr. Vaidyanathan also expressed surprise at Uber’s claim that it could resume operations just by applying for radio taxi licence. “They have to wait for approval,” he said.
‘Still blacklisted’ Reuters, quoting a government official, said Uber remained blacklisted. “They don’t have a licence yet, they have only applied for it.”
Uber rape case
Key Developments
- › Uber case: police track down co-accused >Read more
- › Uber employs over 4,000 unverified drivers >Read More
- › Uber drivers: Why punish us for the actions of one man >Read More
- › Petition urging Uber to stop double standards goes viral >Read More
- › Had warned govt. against Uber, claims taxi association >Read More
- › Delhi police questions Uber official >Read More
- › Verification certificate of driver leaves police red-faced >Read More
- › Radio taxis banned. >Read more
- › Media pressure behind Uber ban? >Read more
- › Delhi govt bans Uber taxi operations >Read more
- › Delhi Police file FIR against Uber for cheating >Read more
- › Investigation reveales driver was accused of sexual assault in 2011. >Read more
- › Police arrest the cab driver, criminal action likely against the cab company >Read more