Delhi Govt Proposes Ban on App-Based Taxis

The Delhi Government has proposed a ban on entry of app-based taxi services in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). However, the ban is not on all vehicles used by these apps, only on those which are not registered in Delhi regional transport offices (RTOs). Only taxis registered in NCT will be allowed to ply on Delhi roads. 

This means that users booking taxis using apps like Uber, Ola, InDrive and other app-based taxi aggregators will have to be careful only to book taxis registered in Delhi. This will also reduce the amount of public transport available, given that the Delhi government has already implemented the odd-even rule and restrictions on the entry of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in the NCT. 

Ironically, most of the taxis that ply on Delhi roads run on CNG rather than diesel or petrol. The reduction in app-based taxis and the ban on diesel-powered buses under stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), will pose huge challenges for commuters in the national capital. 

BluSmart Mobility, the EV-only taxi service has said that its fleet will not be affected by this ban. Uber India also wrote to the Transport Department of the Delhi Government stating that the entirety of its fleet of 70,000 vehicles in Delhi NCR runs on clean fuel – CNG or electric. It also said, “Any shift from private vehicles to CNG or electric taxis would only abate the pollution by encouraging people to move to cleaner fuels.”