New Delhi: Stating that it wanted to make private taxi operators “accountable”, Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of Centre, police, Delhi govt and ride-hailing platforms Uber, Rapido and Ola Cabs on a plea seeking measures to ensure the safety and security of women passengers using app-based services.“We want to make the private operators of the taxi apps accountable. That is the reason we are issuing notices,” a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said, while asking the authorities and the companies to place their stand. The matter has been listed for hearing in Dec.Counsel for the petitioner contended that the app-based operators were plying thousands of cabs in the capital without adequate “checks” on drivers, including whether they were under the influence of alcohol during night hours.In the plea, the petitioner raised several concerns regarding the operation of private cabs, including verification of drivers’ criminal antecedents, vehicle identification, route deviation, emergency response, grievance redressal, preservation of electronic evidence and coordination between app-based transportation platforms and law enforcement agencies.The plea asserted that authorities should ensure surveillance and monitoring of public roads, particularly at vulnerable, isolated and high-risk locations, and undertake a comprehensive review of the existing safety mechanisms and protocols for app-based transportation services.It also sought directions to mandate periodic and verifiable training of cab drivers on gender sensitisation, appropriate conduct towards women passengers, prevention of sexual harassment and maintenance of personal boundaries.The plea seeks directions to ensure that the driver and vehicle undertaking a ride match the details displayed on the application. It also seeks to allow passengers to cancel rides without penalty in cases of unauthorised substitution of a driver or vehicle, with such incidents recorded as safety-related events.The petitioner has also sought the establishment of 24×7 command-and-control centres to respond to SOS alerts. Under the proposed mechanism, booking details, driver identity, vehicle registration number and real-time location could be shared with emergency responders and police, subject to applicable law and privacy safeguards.It also proposes a pool of verified female drivers, with women travelling alone being given the option to request, or be preferentially allotted, such drivers.
