Not safe enough

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a taxi driver, who has been arrested.  The passenger had used Uber, and now it and others like it have been banned in Delhi. There is an allegation that the popular ride-sharing service was not diligent while conducting background checks on the driver, even as Uber had defended itself and said the driver had produced a purportedly forged character certificate. 

No matter how the case unfurls, there is no denying the fact that there was a failure, perhaps across the board. A man who had previously been arrested for rape was allowed to drive a vehicle in which vulnerable women could be passengers. This should not have been allowed to happen.  The cab company cannot hide behind the standard liability protection clause it builds into the app that the passengers use. The Transport Department of Delhi did not have in place norms that such taxi companies must follow. Society, as a whole, has failed to evolve from the nadir that Delhi descended to in the Nirbhaya case two years ago.

The banning of all app-based cab services by the Delhi government is not the solution. The government has to take into account that these services put thousands of cars on roads for Delhi commuters, who would now be a harassed lot. It is true that traditional services and approved radio cab services are there but they may not provide enough taxis. The government needs to examine the best practices of taxi, limousine and for-hire transportation regulators in other countries and ensure that the best norms are adopted by the departments concerned. Uber and other companies need to be proactive in ensuring the safety of passengers and in complying with the relevant laws. The company has run into rough weather in other countries too. It should have been more vigilant in ensuring the safety of its passengers.