INDIA-RAPE/UBER BAN India clamps down on unregistered taxis after Uber rape claim
Record ID:
1374239
INDIA-RAPE/UBER BAN India clamps down on unregistered taxis after Uber rape claim
- Title: INDIA-RAPE/UBER BAN India clamps down on unregistered taxis after Uber rape claim
- Date: 9th December 2014
- Summary: MATHURA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (RECENT - DECEMBER 07, 2014) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF A POLICE STATION VEHICLE WHERE THE ALLEGED ASSAULT TOOK PLACE LICENCE PLATE OF THE VEHICLE NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 09, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DELHI POLICE COMMISSIONER, B.S. BASSI, SAYING: "We are examining the possibility that if under section 144 all the drivers of commercial vehicles can get their verifications done by the police." GURGAON, INDIA (DECEMBER 09, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF BUILDINGS ENTRANCE OF AN OFFICE CABS BEING CHECKED BY SECURITY PERSONNEL PEOPLE SEATED IN FRONT OF THE OFFICE CABS PASSING MORE OF CABS IN FRONT OF THE OFFICE NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 08, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) POLICEMEN COMING OUT OF THE COURT BUILDING WITH THE ACCUSED JOURNALISTS POLICEMEN TAKING AWAY ACCUSED
- Embargoed: 25th December 2014 04:15
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA1XT7FUZCYS7IPQFSZH590OLWX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDIT CONTAINS ORIGINAL 4:3 MATERIAL
India ordered state governments to halt the operations of all unregistered, web-based taxi companies on Tuesday (December 9) after a female passenger reported she was raped in New Delhi by a driver contracted to U.S. cab company Uber.
The case has caused uproar in India after it emerged that the suspect had previously been charged for rape but had obtained a character reference signed by a police officer that was forged.
It has also revealed a failure to regulate the booming market for app-based taxi services in India. The Delhi transport department said it ordered Uber to cease operations on Monday by post.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday an advisory has been issued to all states and union territories to cease operations till proper registration and verification of the taxi services are done.
"We will see whether it is the question of the state governments or that of the union territories, we have issued an advisory to them too. The advisory says taxi services should not be allowed to resume until the state government or the union territory administration does the verification properly and also until the time proper registration is done," said Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament, where several lawmakers grilled him over the lack of women's safety in the capital.
Singh's comments came after New Delhi's transport division banned Uber and other similar web-based taxi providers that are unregistered. A public notice on Tuesday stated only six radio taxi companies will operate in New Delhi.
Delhi Police Commissioner, B.S. Bassi, said the police are examining possibilities to get verification done for all commercial vehicles.
"We are examining the possibility that if under section 144 all the drivers of commercial vehicles can get their verifications done by the police," said Bassi.
Piling pressure on Uber, Thai transport authorities on Tuesday ordered the company to cease operations.
Thailand's Department of Land Transport said drivers picking up fare-paying passengers via Uber were neither registered nor insured to drive commercial vehicles, and that Uber's credit-card payment system did not comply with regulations.
Taxi booking apps have irked drivers at traditional taxi firms across the globe. Consumers are increasingly using the smartphone software to find people willing to drive them, rather than booking a cab by phone.
Uber was blacklisted in New Delhi on Monday (December 8) after police said it had failed to run background checks on the driver, who was held three years ago on suspicion of rape but later acquitted.
The arrested driver, Shiv Kumar Yadav, appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody for three days. Yadav had obtained a reference from the Delhi Police, but the deputy commissioner of police for north Delhi Madhur Verma told Reuters it was forged.
Verma also said the police has registered "a case against Uber for cheating its customers and violating government orders".
In the northern business city of Gurgaon, police launched a verification drive aimed at preventing crime against women professionals travelling in cabs.
The Uber case has reignited a debate about the safety of women in Asia's third-largest economy, especially New Delhi, which is often dubbed India's rape capital.
In 2012, a fatal gang rape of a young woman taking public transport in the city led to nationwide protests and forced the government to enact new laws imposing stricter penalties and formation of fast-track courts.
Uber was valued at $40 billion last week after its latest funding round ahead of an expected initial public offering.
In India, Uber's second-largest market after the United States by number of cities covered, the company has been operating in 11 cities.
India's central bank had earlier rapped Uber for violating the country's credit card payment system by using a so-called one-step authorisation process while the regulator requires a two-step procedure. Uber later complied, calling the requirement "unnecessary and burdensome".
The U.S. company has also been dogged by controversy surrounding its aggressive approach to local governments and traditional taxi services.
On Monday, the U.S. West Coast city of Portland sued Uber to bar it from operating in the city. The company started operating in Portland on Friday without consent from authorities or any agreement over how it would be regulated.
A representative for Uber said the company had not been officially notified of any ban in New Delhi and would issue a statement later on Tuesday. It was still possible to hail an Uber taxi in Delhi using the company's smartphone application.
Uber taxis were also violating norms by plying within the city despite having an all-India tourist permit that mandates only inter-state travel, a government official said.
Uber didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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