This refers to Ajit Balakrishnan's article "Uber, Baazee.com redux" (December 16). The banning of Uber was not tenable even from the consumer welfare point of view. Are the substitutes to Uber, the "kaali peeli" (black and yellow) cabs, given licences that are updated based on driver credentials? While it is not my case to argue that Uber should have done better, and to this extent it should be judged on a higher level of accountability than Baazee.com, but to me the mail tracking devices placed in the cabs and direct mapping of customer to the assigned cab makes identifying the miscreant driver a lot easier than it would have been with the status quo. Actually, technology intermediaries like Uber are stepping on the toes of powerful vested interests globally and the unfortunate New Delhi incident was just a fait accompli.
Indranil Chakraborty Mumbai
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