[mishraak]

Not only that, Govt has banned all app based cabs.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/45422754.cms

[phamilyman]

The government has lost it:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/45422754.cms

The charges against Uber came after hours of questioning of company officials who said that they didn't do any background checks themselves and relied on their partners and Delhi Police to do the verification.

Of course - why should everyone become a private detective and not refer to the police records before hiring a driver?

[Cyrus_the_virus]

I wonder why the cab company which he was working with in the first rape case has neither been named nor banned? Does every cab company get one free first time rape by it's driver? Why is the police trying to shift blame of its utter incompetence of not being able to maintain a database of cab drivers convicted of crimes and has its own department issuing forged signatures and seals for character certificates? How is it that they allow him to drive a commercial transport ever again? Why isn't the media asking these important questions and being blinded by hate against a non conventional cab company? Due to the humongous failures of the police to protect its citizens, everyone today is searching for a scape goat for every incident like this. Rather than looking at the underlying root causes that are facilitating this. Why despite sunfilm ban in vehicles did a rape take place inside a vehicle? wasn't this ridiculous move supposed to stop all rapes happening in vehicles? No, no, lets back it up by another ridiculous move by banning all cab companies that doesn't pay daily hafta to police or go through the corrupt transportation department.

Uber has it's own set of failures to deal with in this case, but this is another example of incompetent governance, if you set minimum standards, companies will only follow them. Just like the current vehicle safety standards set by the government, you cannot really blame car companies for being within the law of the land yet making death traps and calling them cars. The bottom line is Uber did nothing illegal, but the police department did by issusing fake certificate.

There is an accusation that the cab was not fitted with GPS, can someone knowledgeable of Delhi traffic laws tell me if there is a government rule mandating that all taxis be fitted with a GPS tracker? If not, then this accusation does not stand ground. Ofcourse the point remains that Uber could have had this as an additional safety measure, but then again, why was the first rape not prevented? did the cab company at that time not have a GPS tracker? Why is this being overlooked?

We Indians are notorious for halla/shor machana after something happens, take some knee jerk reactions and then forget about it totally after a few days. This incident is not a new thing. This is not the first time that some unfortunate soul got raped in a taxi. It has been more than a decade since these types of incident came to light after the BPO boom. Why, why after all these years and after all these numbers is there no tight laws to streamline cab safety? Its laughable to see the kind of reactions, reminds me of the knee jerk reaction like totally beefing up security and checking everyone in entrance to malls, offices, parks etc. totally inconveniencing everyone after an explosion takes place but a few days later, no one even bothers to check you and then the cycle starts again after another incident. Everything after the fact.

It pains me to the bottom of my heart that we have become such a callous nation. Our priorities are in the wrong place. I hope our regulatory frameworks are made stronger so that no loophole exists so that incidents such as these don't take place and even if they do, rather than finding a scape goat, find the real culprits who have created the perfect situation for the crime to take place. In a system, it is not only the criminal to blame but anyone who has knowingly facilitated the crime. Here the police and the government knowingly let a convict walk back to the same profession with no alerts send to companies hiring in this space. For all the problems that Uber has to currently fix, the truth of the matter is, they did NOT knowingly hire a rapist, but the police let off a rapist knowingly and made no effort to warn others or list him in a database of offenders.

[sandeep108]

There is also a major issue of privacy in app based cab systems. Apparently, the app has complete access to your entire private data. In fact Uber is known for its controversial threatening of anti-Uber journos with revealing their personal data, including trip locations, etc.

While one may have nothing to hide, the very thought of all my calendar/contact/media data being available to Uber or any new start-up who very rarely have any privacy policies in place.

[woof]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Is the Ban only in Delhi or does it cover NCR also (Noida/Gzb/Fbd) ?

I still see TaxiForSure taxis in APP at Noida region.

I guess the ban is only in Delhi.

In gurgaon, I can see lots of cabs available (on both OLA & Uber apps)

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

You really believe this will curb the problem?!! So, if this was an auto driver in question, we ban autos across India altogether?!
When a child was raped by a PE teacher at a Bangalore school, should they have banned the school or PE altogether? Similarly, i can draw parallels with other incidents as well, but i believe i have made my point.

What is required is to ensure harsh punishments which deter people from performing such acts, and not dilly-dally with knee-jerk reactions such as these.

I firmly believe this is one of the steps in the direction to make the nation safe. Banning a taxi service alone doesn't fix the issue, rather we need such measures in other public transport options as well. In Bangalore, the auto drives are the worst, ask anyone who lives here. They become hostile or overcharge just because there is no authority to take them to task. So they abuse men/women alike. They act as though they are doing us a favour by ferrying us. Overcharging and arguments about it are the most common. There are several bodies coming up trying to make autos commuter friendly. Why is that now? Also, the metro in my opinion is the best against such auto drivers. When they lose business, it hurts them where it bleeds the most. I personally feel severe to harsh punishments by authorities are sometimes considered too much by in India. Why not look at foreign countries? In Singapore taxis overcharging by even a marginal amount is considered a big sin!

Schools, - that's another issue here which unfortunately also falls into a category where demand far exceeds supply. My child goes to play group and I know every single parent is concerned about which school to pick just because they want to ensure safety of their kid. Blacklisting schools for such incidents is definitely a positive move in my opinion because it hurts them the most. Why is it that they cannot have proper security mechanisms when they charge a lot of donation? Would anyone recommend sending kids to a school which has poor safety norms? Why is it that even after several cases of little children being molested and raped, schools continue to consider installing security cameras (and ensure they work) as a last option without govt pressure? Why should those schools continue to operate where the chairman and director try to wash off their hands of the incident by trying to manipulate the story? As a parent, I worry about my child and I am sure every other parent also does.

The parent company/institution where the crime occured is equally a party to the crime in my opinion. Their fault - overlooking safety measures.

I am in complete agreement that harsh punishments must be provided to the individual committing the crime, but I also believe that the institution where the crime occured also needs to be punished to a certain extent. In India, without these measures coming in, I do not see accountability coming in because there won't be a fear of law.

[svsantosh]

Banning Uber for the recent assault case is Akin to banning women in a country so that Rape cases are zero! Baseless and a kneejerk reaction!

Who the hell (western entrepreneurs) will trust the 'Make in India' comment with such senseless reactions?

[sumathindra]

Yes banning is certainly a knee jerk reaction and quite reactive. However how were they even permitted to operate in the first place. The reason being given is that they need to get their licenses! WOW, the crux of the whole fiasco is "BAD GOVERNANCE". Till some untoward incident happens this very same governance does not wake up!

Hold the officers responsible who granted permission for these cabs to operate and run in the first place. Bringing in accountability will probable the beginning steps to a better governance..

[jeepster_chd]

Originally Posted by amitk26

The failure in reality is of the legal system

Regarding the state of our legal system- Almost a year back, my brother-in-law's scooter was stolen from outside his work place. It was an old rickety scooter so it getting stolen didn’t bother anyone much; however, going by the law a DDR was lodged.

The ordeal began when the thieves were apprehended the very next day at a police check post in the city. The thieves were booked along with the stolen scooter. A case in local court was submitted by the local police and the trial began. My wife in whose name the scooter was had also to testify before the judge that she is now married and doesn’t rides this scooter anymore and hence has got nothing to do with it. Then after a number of visits to the court, the court obliged to release the scooter in lieu of something that would cost more than 80K. Even I didn’t understand the logic behind. Then judge asked us to submit the Registration Certificate of the Zen car that my brother-in-law drives. After which the scooter was released.

Now, my in-laws who were planning buying a new car year back, have been held back as the Zen’s RC which they were planning to sell lies with the court and the case is still going on.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Current framework does not have the concept of this type of booking.

So not just uber, any service like airbnb is also illegal.

Infact, this is the bone of contention.
Uber is not a cab company. Its just a payment processor and an intermediary which connects the service provider and consumer.

This model of business is not recognized.

This extends to many other things. Our laws are outdated. For example Amazon Tax fiasco with KA govt.

OLA/UBER/TAXI-FOR SURE all are same. Just a payment processor which connects the service provider with consumer.

Is banning them right?
Yes, going by law its right

This is the crux of the issue. Our laws have not kept up with the technology available to a common man, and most of the time that's how it has been and will be. That being the case, whether law is outdated or not, it still has to be adhered to by all or the law needs to be changed to account for change in scenario.
So obviously now that this issue has come up, it's time for our lawmakers (i.e. parliament) to pass some law regarding this.

Originally Posted by Cyrus_the_virus

There is an accusation that the cab was not fitted with GPS, can someone knowledgeable of Delhi traffic laws tell me if there is a government rule mandating that all taxis be fitted with a GPS tracker? If not, then this accusation does not stand ground. Ofcourse the point remains that Uber could have had this as an additional safety measure, but then again, why was the first rape not prevented? did the cab company at that time not have a GPS tracker? Why is this being overlooked?

This is for Radio Taxis in Delhi (taken from one of the earlier news article posted in this thread):
http://www.delhi.gov.in/DoIT/DoIT_Transport/trrs31.pdf

Obviously Uber doesn't fall under this, because they are only an aggregator. But since their operations are similar, they are being framed under this.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But then, we allow Auto drivers to solicit customers. Somehow, just because its done using a smartphone, its illegal.
How logical is that?

Good analysis. Perfectly said.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

What can be done to fix it?
Well, for starters, a rule can be made that any TAXI should have an inbuilt tracker.

But I just switched off my GPS tracker and reported to the company saying it conked off.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

But I just switched off my GPS tracker and reported to the company saying it conked off.

But that does not change if you hailed a cab or used your smartphone. That is a crime problem. Domain of the police.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But that does not change if you hailed a cab or used your smartphone. That is a crime problem. Domain of the police.

Agreed, what I meant was "GPS is not a fool-proof" solution.
The possible solution is integrity within the police who would do background checks and keep their database updated.

Saw this morning on news, Mumbai is gearing up for background checks of all its cabs. Some massive number.
Similarly, elsewhere, the Police should keep their database updated and perform a strict background check with regards to anything (passport, cabs, maids, etc). Enabling GPS will be a booster for security in a cab.

Airbag is important, but basic is Seatbelt. Curb the crime in its roots.

[Prafful_Rathod]

While Uber can not be blamed directly for the mishap but they certainly can not run away from this, as the customers who are traveling by their cabs are their base of the business. They definitely are expected to do the basics right, especially when the cab is running under their brand name.

Just imagine what kind of effect such incidences will have on the confidence of common public who are generally of the opinion in our country that these so called Radio Taxis are much better / safer / professional compared to local autos and black and yellow taxis for that matter.

It might just be a bad luck for Uber in this case (as it could have happened with any other cab service), but strict action is absolutely necessary to set an example which otherwise is very difficult in our country when it comes law and order. Business certainly owes much more to the society, unfortunately that motive is not there in most cases.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But that does not change if you hailed a cab or used your smartphone. That is a crime problem. Domain of the police.

Who will track every single cab via GPS? How do they know that a cab enroute has stopped for 15-20mins and a crime is being committed inside the vehicle?

GPS in the car or on the phone makes no difference here. Phone you can turn off but even if you cannot turn off there is no way of catching this issue..