Delhi govt's ban may disrupt operations of ride-hailing firms: Uber to LG

The Delhi government’s proposed ban on app-based taxis registered in other states from entering the national capital may disrupt the operations of cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola, according to industry sources.

Ride-hailing platform Uber has opposed the move in a letter to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the Transport Commissioner, saying such movement restrictions are “impractical and hard to execute”. The Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) encompasses several districts surrounding Delhi from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

“This would be akin to a mobility lockdown for citizens of Delhi NCR who would be left in the lurch if they need to access critical infrastructure like the airport, railway stations, and even major hospitals,” said Uber in the letter, a copy of which was reviewed by Business Standard. “We urge the government to take an all-encompassing view based on scientific evidence while also keeping in mind the larger humanitarian crisis this move can precipitate.”

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the city government's transport department has been directed to ban app-based taxis "in accordance with the Supreme Court's orders". However, taxis with Delhi registration numbers would be allowed entry.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court reportedly asked the Delhi government to consider allowing only locally registered taxis to ply on the city's roads. It said a large number of taxis registered in other states were seen on the roads, carrying only one passenger. It wanted to know whether there is any way of monitoring, especially during this period of time, that only the taxis registered in Delhi are permitted to ply as an additional measure to control pollution.

“We would like to bring to your attention that every single one of the 70,000 cars on the Uber platform across Delhi NCR runs on clean fuel—CNG or electric, as opposed to the private vehicles which run on petrol or diesel, which are the more polluting fuels,” said Uber in the letter. It said an indiscriminate restriction on CNG vehicles running on clean fuel will force people to move to petrol or diesel vehicles.

Industry sources said that if non-Delhi registered cabs are not allowed to ply, nearly 70 per cent or two-thirds of cabs will be off the roads.

In response to a query, Uber said, "While we haven’t received any order from the transport department, we want to reiterate that all the cars on the Uber platform in Delhi are CNG or electric and shared mobility helps more people commute in fewer cars."