Sharing a ride on cabs may soon be banned

July 9, 2017

Soon, the app-based cabs may be barred from offering ride-sharing option to the customers in the capital. The City Taxi Scheme, 2017, the draft of which is being finalized by the Delhi govt's transport dept., is likely to ban this service as "it's not legally permitted".

A govt. official said that "In principle, we're in favor of cab sharing as it doesn't only provides affordable commuting option to the passengers, but also reduces the no. of vehicles on the roads. However, these operations do not come under the present legal framework, as taxis are only allowed to be hired from 1 point to another & can't pick & drop passengers."

Though this draft scheme is still being finalized, the transport dept. officials are sure that sharing a ride wouldn't be allowed.

The official further added that they plan to regulate operations of the app-based cab services; though a no. of features of the scheme are yet to be finalized, the cab-sharing option would definitely have to go as it's legally not permitted.

In the city taxis run on 'contract carriage permits', which allow them to be hired from 1 point to another. This means cabs cannot pick up/drop multiple passengers. Only vehicles with a 'stage carriage permit', such as the public buses, are allowed to pick & drop passengers at multiple points.

Apart from banning ride sharing, the new scheme'll put a cap on the no. of taxis that can be plied by an operator & the max. price that can be charged from the customers.

Mandatory installation of GPS & panic buttons also find mention in this new scheme.