With the ban on diesel-run taxis, imposed by the Supreme Court on Saturday, commuters in Delhi had a harrowing time in the national capital region on Monday, as 27,000 taxis were off the roads.
The apex court had refused to extend the April 30 deadline for diesel-run taxis in Delhi. The court took a stern view of the taxis refusing to convert diesel vehicles into CNG ones. Just about 2,000 diesel taxis had converted to the cleaner fuel by the April 30 deadline.
Of the 60,000 taxis plying on Delhi’s roads, 27,000 run on diesel engines. Many Uber and Ola cabs are also operated on diesel engines.
While the odd-even scheme got over on Saturday, commuters in Delhi are facing enormous problems as the state government has warned the taxi-hailing apps not to impose surge pricing.
Uber had reintroduced surge pricing on Sunday, a day after the odd-even scheme got over. During the fortnight-long restriction on cars, the Delhi government had asked Uber and Ola to suspend surge pricing, and both had agreed.
However, Arvind Kejriwal told the two companies on Sunday that the ban on surge pricing was permanent and they could not charge commuters more.
Source : BS Motoring