In a desperate bid to resume operations in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), US-based cab aggregator Uber is planning to float a frontal company registered in the Capital.
Contrary to many reports, however, this would be indirectly through a frontal organisation and not directly as the San Francisco-based international cab aggregation service.
According to a government source, the company had recently indicated that it was in the process of registering this new organisation in Delhi.
Once registered, the said company would then, the source said, apply for a licence under modified Radio Taxi laws through this new frontal organisation to resume business on behalf of Uber.
The Central Government imposed an operational ban on Uber and other app-based taxi services in the country after the rape of an MNC executive aboard one of its cabs in December last year.
The Hindu has learnt that Uber representatives first met Delhi Government officials with a request to lift the operational ban on its services.
In a statement on its blog, Uber said, "We applied for a license under the Radio Taxi Scheme to reflect our commitment to providing riders with more options for safe and reliable transportation, including the ability to request a Radio Taxi on-demand."
But a government source told The Hindu that "there could be no change in the legal status quo regarding the ban on Uber till the Model Code of Conduct was in force."
However, "a new operator's licence plea" could be considered as long as it met new legal guidelines in the amended Radio Taxi Rules of 2006.
