'Govt not against any business, won't compromise with safety'

Delhi government today said it was not against any kind of business and will follow best practices to promote the commuters' interests but won't compromise with safety and security of women in the city.

Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai also accused app-based taxi operators Uber and Ola cabs of "misleading" their drivers and commuters, by not submitting the details of their drivers to the government.

Delhi government wants to set the record straight on the issue of app-based taxi services in the national capital, since an impression is being created as if the state government has taken some fresh decision, he said.

"It is regretted that companies like Uber and Ola are misleading poor taxi drivers and the general public of the national capital.

"Delhi government makes it absolutely clear that it is not against any kind of business and will follow best practices to promote the interests of commuters, but will not compromise with women safety," Rai told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, the minister said that Uber and Ola cabs have not submitted details pertaining to their drivers and vehicles, but they submitted details to government only by evening.

"Unfortunately, the conduct of these companies so far does not inspire confidence and I have no hesitation in publicly stating that they have indulged in cheating the trust of Delhi government and the residents of the national capital," Rai said.

The AAP government had on June 3 rejected fresh applications for licence by US-based taxi booking firm Uber and two other such service providers -- Ola and TaxiForSure.

Top Delhi government officials said the applications of the three taxi aggregators were rejected for not filing undertakings stating that they were complying with a ban imposed on them.

The three operators had filed the applications under the modified Radio Taxi Scheme introduced five months ago.

All app-based cab service were banned in the national capital after a driver of Uber, the US-based online cab service provider, was accused of raping a woman passenger in December last.

"Government asked Uber and Ola Cabs that their pending applications for fresh licences will be considered if they agree to adhere to the existing ban on them, furnish the data of drivers and their vehicles within a week and give an undertaking that they will comply with safety regulations, particularly for women commuters," Rai added.

"I have met drivers associations over the last two days and they have told me that they have submitted all their details with the offices of these companies located at Gurgaon. Then why are these companies are hesitant to share the data with the transport department," he added.