"Mobility Lockdown": Uber On Delhi's Plan To Regulate App-Based Taxis

Ride-hailing giant wrote to Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and the transport department today on the proposed ban on entry of cabs from other states into the city to curb pollution. Calling the move a "huge unnecessary inconvenience" Uber said it would be "akin to mobility lockdown for citizens of Delhi NCT".

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the transport department has been directed to ban app-based taxis "in accordance with the Supreme Court's orders".

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked the Delhi government to consider allowing only locally registered taxis on the city's roads.

Uber stressed that all of the "70,000 cars on its platform across Delhi NCR run on clean fuel - CNG or electric, as opposed to private vehicles which run on petrol or diesel which are the more polluting fuels".

"Any shift from private vehicles to CNG or electric cabs would only abate the pollution by encouraging people to move to cleaner fuels," the company said in a statement.

A detailed order on this is yet to be issued which would make it clear if the ban will come into effect from this week or during the implementation of the odd-even car rationing scheme.

The odd-even car rationing scheme will be implemented in the national capital after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order, the Delhi government said yesterday.

"The Delhi-NCR region encompasses several districts surrounding Delhi from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan which makes movement restrictions impractical and hard to execute. This would be akin to mobility lockdown for citizens who would be left in the lurch if they need to access critical infrastructure like the airport, railway stations and even major hospitals," Uber said.

The company urged the Delhi government to take an "all-encompassing view based on scientific evidence while also keeping in mind the larger humanitarian crisis this move can precipitate".

Smog has gripped the world's most polluted capital where air quality dips ahead of winter every year, when cold air traps pollutants from a variety of sources including vehicles, industries, construction dust, and agricultural waste burning.

The city government has already shut schools, stopped construction activities and plans to impose restrictions on vehicles to curb pollution.