[i10]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Now Govt in soup over its own Web based app - Pooch-O for Autos, just like Uber !

I don't think it is in the grey zone, considering they are not charging anything for their services, nor are they accepting payments 'on behalf' of the drivers. Similar to services like JustDial

[zenren]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Even Karnataka is stopping the services based on information from Centre to stop services if they are not registered locally.

They've done it in the most graceful, yet most difficult fashion. They didn't ban Uber or anyone else. KA RTA has simply thrown the rule book at them and gave them till December 31st to comply. This includes getting city permits, installing meters, painting the cab in yellow etc.

So, there is no ban in KA till the year end.

[SreeT]

You know when a fancy international corporation sets up it's business in India we all think it will do what is needed to deliver the service comparable to that in western countries and serve as a benchmark for the local businesses to catch up, but no nooo they don't care about the service or us, they only care about the money they make in our market of a billion. Banning Uber is a good idea but will the other companies start to care for the service instead of money? I don't think so. People don't value a company by it's values now-a-days they only see the bank balance they have.

In these kind of situations, government needs to be the leader we need it to be and impose strict guidelines, where ever human safety is concerned. But who am I kidding even they don't care much until something like this happens and after creating some noise like this, it's forgotten. If we are having a high risk situation, why not enact laws to solve the risk? Most western countries have a offender list easily accessible by the public, if we are having such a huge problem why not us as well? All they care about is making India the next China, cheap manufacturing costs at the cost of it's citizen's standard of living.

Sorry for the nagging here's a funny pic

[akash_m]

I am somehow on the defensive side for the Uber in the entire case. Figure this hypothetical situation:

I purchase meal Coupons from Groupon App and then go out for dine in (Groupon has tie-ups with around 50K resturants). It turns out that a lizard is found in the food I am having. Will I go back to Groupon and hold them responsible?? Obviously not. The restaurant has to take the entire blame.

My logic may be wrong though....

[9thsphinx]

Rape is unnatural and should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

But this is not just about rape. It's really about sending a message. We often complain that our Government is not taking enough action about traffic offenders. We demand heavier fines and a strong discipline.

This is one of those cases where a strong message is being sent across. A state wide ban of a public service for an isolated incident in a particular state.

I would say this is how it should be. The ban in its true sense is debatable, but until unless taxi fleet operators undergo strong background checks and follow a systematic procedure for their operations, a ban is what sets things straight.

I, personally, find the Uber ban justified.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by akash_m

I am somehow on the defensive side for the Uber in the entire case. Figure this hypothetical situation:

I purchase meal Coupons from Groupon App and then go out for dine in (Groupon has tie-ups with around 50K resturants). It turns out that a lizard is found in the food I am having. Will I go back to Groupon and hold them responsible?? Obviously not. The restaurant has to take the entire blame.

My logic may be wrong though....

Would Groupon dictate which restaurant in that list of 50k you should go to? If they force you to go to a restaurant that they pick, then would you not hold them also accountable for picking a bad restaurant?

In case of Uber, the customer do not get an option to pick a cab based on driver rating or any such data that says X is better than Y. In any online marketplace, the customer can choose the seller. In cases where they cannot choose, the platform takes the ownership for quality.

[alpha1]

Have there been no incidents of rape committed by yellow taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers till now?

If no, then hats off to these guys.
If yes, then why hasn't anyone considered banning them?

[behaln]

Anybody who is in customer relationship business has to take the responsibility of its customers and the employees. UBER just cannot runaway from its liability and failure to get the driver verified.
This just signifies that they just preferred to employ people from unknown sources without proper police verification. This has seriously rented not only UBER's credibility but also many Internet based taxi Providers.
Not long ago I was a happy UBER customer, having read about them in Team - Bhp only, but not anymore.

[akash_m]

Originally Posted by zenren

Would Groupon dictate which restaurant in that list of 50k you should go to?

Agreed. What if my luggage is stolen in a flight which I booked through Cleartrip?? In this case, cleartrip recommends me the available flight(s) for the sector which are best suited and take minimum time to my destination.

Is Cleartrip to blame here..?

P.S: In no way am I trying to defend Uber or the brutal taxi driver. Just a thought that came to my mind.

[msdivy]

Things getting worse for Uber - Uber General Manager Shailesh Sawlani Attacked in Mumbai

BTW, if Uber says they are software company then they are kidding themselves. Yes, they might have a development team but most of their hires are managers in various cities who sign up drivers, run promotional campaigns. On the other side, this is what they do:
1) Find who is looking for ride.
2) Find driver who can provide the ride
3) Establish contact between driver & passenger
4) After the ride, generate bill & collect money from passenger
5) Pay the driver (later)
6) Collect feedback from driver & passenger.

Who is their competition? Local taxi or cab service ! If this is not taxi business, then what else is? Title of this thread says 'Uber is premium taxi service !'

Uber has to accept that they are in taxi business. They have newer technology (smartphone, GPS, auto payment). They must highlight these and offer their service. They must work with local administration and showcase their benefits over radio taxi.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Now Govt in soup over its own Web based app - Pooch-O for Autos, just like Uber !

There is nothing illegal here. Autos have license & permit to operate in the city. How to call an auto doesn't matter.

Originally Posted by akash_m

In no way am I trying to defend Uber or the brutal taxi driver.

Banning of Uber has nothing to do with rape. Rape highlighted their business model, which found to be not complying with local administration rules.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Now Govt in soup over its own Web based app - Pooch-O for Autos, just like Uber !

They are not charging anything to the customer.

Delhi Govt. thinks that Delhi Auto are safer?

Don't know when will Delhi Police and Delhi Govt. wake up and will improve security and safety, instead they are banning organizations and providing these services. They are over looking the main issue here. Sad.

City gets a bad name every time. None of the authorities care about the safety of the citizens, all they care is to pass the blame.

[shinuak]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I think uber did a check, and police said this guy was A-okay
Attachment 1316296

Can the Govt ban/suspend/dismiss this, so called Govt. Servant who is supposed to work for the welfare of the people. I agree Uber is liable to be punished since they did not take action on the driver who was reported by another passenger. At the same time, we need to punish the respective transport/police authorities too. Putting the blame squarely on one party alone is not fair. This is one example which points to something which could have been prevented, had the Govt Agencies/Uber etc acted properly on time. But in a corruption infested society, where people think twice to go to police to file a complaint, Uber cannot be singled out and penalized.

[Samurai]

Here is the crux of the matter. Indian government is always lagging decades behind when it comes to creating laws to match the changing business environment. Whenever a new tech-enabled business model enters the country, the prevailing statuary & regulatory environment rarely addresses the new business model. So the new business has to put a square peg into a round hole and somehow get by until the situation gets pretty bad, like this case.

A real example for the 90s: An Indian company did some software development work, and billed the US customer. When the payment was made, the Indian government [I forget which department] sent a notice to the Indian company. They demanded to see bill of lading for the shipment of software. When the Indian company claimed it was sent via Internet, the officer retorted "You take us for fools? Tell us why you got this money, or else we will charge you under FERA act." Finally the company shipped a CD with some useless files in it to provide a bill of lading.

This has been happening every time a new business model enters the country. Flipkart and Amazon are facing difficulty with tax authorities of individual states whose tax code doesn't factor in their business model. VOIP has been around for over a decade, but our laws don't allow it to be used in public infrastructure. Karnataka which leads the software revolution in the country, charges both VAT and Service tax on software purchase, which is a shocking travesty. They are yet to figure this one out, cases are pending in courts for years.

The cab booking app is the latest business model to fall prey to this age old problem. The booking apps (not just Uber) are breaking laws because the prevailing laws are based on older business/technology. If laws are not changed to suit new business/technology models, the new business models can't take root India.

[sgiitk]

@Samurai; I agree with our ancient ostrich approach. Remember we had VCRs and cassettes for years before they realised there may be copyright issues, and tried to regulate belatedly. Then the recent attempt to block various sites.

The Uber issue is a total one off failure. One clever psychopath was able to breach the system of (non existent) security. This does not mean that the structure itself is bad. What about the yellow cabs and TSRs in Delhi? Are they all angels. Also, the govt gets a much higher percentage of revenue as tax from Uber than the taxi wallahs.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Samurai

A real example for the 90s: An Indian company did some software development work, and billed the US customer. When the payment was made, the Indian government sent a notice to the Indian company. They demanded to see bill of lading for the shipment of software. When the Indian company claimed it was sent via Internet, the officer retorted "You take us for fools? Tell us why you got this money, or else we will charge you under FERA act." Finally the company shipped a CD with some useless files in it to provide a bill of lading.

.

This is still happening in major government research institutions with context to e-journals. They make foreign publishers jump through hoops every year for USB backups. Even when they know they have access to all subscribed content till end of time.
"Ji, stores has asked for it. You must provide. "