Cab sharing safety concern for women: Delhi CM

NEW DELHI: Reacting to a TOI report on Thursday, ‘Share rides may be axed under new taxi scheme’, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged the government’s concern for women’s safety to be the reason for the dilemma. “I agree that

ride sharing

is a good idea. This is being discussed within the govt. Our concern is women safety. Sharing a ride wid strangers may not be safe for women,” the chief minister tweeted.

The Delhi government’s transport department is formulating a city taxi scheme, which aims at regulating app-based cab services. According to transport department officials, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 doesn’t allow taxis running under contract carriage permit to pick up and drop multiple users and that is the reason why ride sharing could be axed. But the government seems to have another serious concern.

TOI spoke to a cross-section of women in the city and also in Bangalore, where ride sharing is quite popular, to gauge what women felt about the idea of doing away with it altogether. At a roughly 30% of the total rides,

cab sharing

is obviously quite a popular option. It remains popular among women and most of them said it is a pocket-friendly option that should not be scrapped, particularly when buses are scarce. Also, many of them had safety issues and anecdotes to recall though with some caution and steps to guard against any untoward incident, they have learnt to make best use of this economical option and travel in comfort.

Some came up with the idea of plying all-women shared cabs or cabs with women drivers but recognised the fact that this would only restrict their choice. Others who have grown up in the city recalled that even buses have not been safe for women and the cabs were, perhaps, a much better option. Some also pointed out that random booking by three-four people did reduce chances of a common intention.

A 36-year-old businesswoman, Richa Dubey, asserted that cab sharing should stay. “This is a public service which is pocket, environment and traffic friendly. However, more measures regarding women’s safety need to be adopted like women-only cabs or cabs driven by women,” she suggested. College student Tanya Jain, 19, travels a in a shared cab quite often. “Since it’s my pocket money, sharing works much better for me. I can always check how many people are travelling in the car and also avoid pooling cabs at night,” she said. “Don’t forget that pooling cabs helps in reducing pollution,” said another student, Devna Anand.

There have been scary experiences like the woman who had dozed off and found a co-passenger masturbating and another who flashed in front of her but in both cases the driver intervened swiftly. Those who have had some unpleasant experiences are suspicious and on guard. “These cab services are both convenient and unsafe. When you go for the share option, you cannot predict the intentions of the other passengers. Till the time I reach my home, I am on alert,” said Bhakti Makwana, a student in Bangalore. “I generally don’t prefer to take share cabs in the evening. Once the driver didn’t have his GPS on. He said his phone was not working properly. And all the other travellers were males. I usually carry a pepper spray with me,” said another woman who did not wish to be named.

But most want ride sharing to stay. “I think it should not be banned because it saves a lot of cost and time,” asserted Prerna Das, an MA student. “Public transport is a nuisance and it doesn’t cover every possible route, especially in and around NCR. Ola and Uber are life savers at times and certainly a better option in areas where Metro connectivity is not good.”

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