The scheme plans to bring in a uniform law for all taxis plying in the city, but the taxi unions, including kali-peelis, radio, and economy taxis, are of the opinion that this will adversely affect their business
The Delhi government’s new City Taxi Scheme, 2017, is stuck due to the lack of consensus between the government and the stakeholders. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot will now meet the stakeholders on Wednesday to discuss the issue again.
The new rules, aimed at regulating taxis and app-based cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber in the national Capital, are being opposed by taxi unions, which are against giving permits to app-based taxis.
The scheme plans to bring in a uniform law for all taxis plying in the city, but the taxi unions, including kali-peelis, radio, and economy taxis, are of the opinion that this will adversely affect their business. Most of the nearly dozen major auto-taxi unions in the city are affiliated with political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress.
The Transport Department, which had prepared the policy, has held several consultations with the unions over the last few months, but the talks have remained “inconclusive”. “The past meetings have been more or less inconclusive. We are trying to safeguard everybody’s interests. There are, however, some issues regarding fares and benefits, which need to be addressed,” a senior Delhi government official said.
President of the All Delhi Auto-Taxi Transport Congress Union, Kailash Verma, said: “We have requested the government to not let our business suffer. These ride-hailing apps do not have permits to ply. Also, they are a threat to passengers’ safety, as their drivers are not verified. We have held three meetings with the department in this regard earlier.”
Last month, DNA had reported that the scheme was likely to be bifurcated for taxis and technology-based aggregators. Bifurcation would mean that the app-based aggregators will be able to procure permits to ply as on-demand transportation technology, with fixed fares and service benefits for employees, unlike at present.
The new rules will require cab aggregators to install panic button, provide for PSV badges, fixed hours of work, and no surge pricing.
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