<p>The Delhi government on Monday announced revised rules for operating radio taxis, bringing aggregators like Uber into the fold of the law. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Now cab aggregators like Uber can apply for a licence, provided they comply with guidelines for their operation, which include mandatory installation of GPS devices, a panic button and providing full database of their drivers to Delhi Police.<br /><br />According to the modified Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006, providers of radio taxi services will have to either maintain a call centre or operate through an authorised call centre or website.<br /><br />The Delhi Transport Department had banned all internet-based taxi firms from operating in the capital after a 26-year-old woman was raped by a man driving for US-based Uber, which operates through mobile application. <br /><br />In the past<br />For over a year, internet-based taxi firms were operating outside the licence regime introduced in 2006 for radio taxi services.<br /><br />Several of the rules prescribed for radio taxi services do not apply to these technology-driven firms, which took cab bookings without actually having any drivers on their rolls, unlike radio taxi operators, which run their own vehicles.<br /><br />The modifications in the law come as an attempt to fix the loopholes in cab operations, which became apparent after the recent rape case. <br /><br />The modified law says that licensee shall maintain a minimum fleet of 200 radio taxis either owned or through an agreement with individual taxi permit holders, and shall start the service with a minimum fleet of 50 radio taxis within one month of grant of license. <br /><br />“The radio taxi should be fitted with GPS- and GPRS-based tracking device, printer and a display panel showing the path traversed and total distance covered,” the Transport Department said in a statement. <br /><br />Only six companies have licence for operating radio taxi services in Delhi as of now. <br /></p>
<p>The Delhi government on Monday announced revised rules for operating radio taxis, bringing aggregators like Uber into the fold of the law. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Now cab aggregators like Uber can apply for a licence, provided they comply with guidelines for their operation, which include mandatory installation of GPS devices, a panic button and providing full database of their drivers to Delhi Police.<br /><br />According to the modified Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006, providers of radio taxi services will have to either maintain a call centre or operate through an authorised call centre or website.<br /><br />The Delhi Transport Department had banned all internet-based taxi firms from operating in the capital after a 26-year-old woman was raped by a man driving for US-based Uber, which operates through mobile application. <br /><br />In the past<br />For over a year, internet-based taxi firms were operating outside the licence regime introduced in 2006 for radio taxi services.<br /><br />Several of the rules prescribed for radio taxi services do not apply to these technology-driven firms, which took cab bookings without actually having any drivers on their rolls, unlike radio taxi operators, which run their own vehicles.<br /><br />The modifications in the law come as an attempt to fix the loopholes in cab operations, which became apparent after the recent rape case. <br /><br />The modified law says that licensee shall maintain a minimum fleet of 200 radio taxis either owned or through an agreement with individual taxi permit holders, and shall start the service with a minimum fleet of 50 radio taxis within one month of grant of license. <br /><br />“The radio taxi should be fitted with GPS- and GPRS-based tracking device, printer and a display panel showing the path traversed and total distance covered,” the Transport Department said in a statement. <br /><br />Only six companies have licence for operating radio taxi services in Delhi as of now. <br /></p>
