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The Delhi government will launch its ‘City Taxi Scheme – 2017’. The programme aims to regulate all taxis plying in the capital, including those run by app-based cab aggregators.
The last time Delhi government had launched the cab scheme was in 2015 and the government felt that with the changing scenario, it required an update, sources said. “It was felt that some improvement was needed to the old scheme and that is why the new scheme has been prepared for proper regulation of taxi services in the city,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.
Two key features of the scheme will be to be a cap on the number of taxis that can be plied by an operator and the maximum price that can be charged from customers. Officials, however, are tight-lipped about the exact contours of the draft scheme and an official announcement is expected to be made soon.
“There is definitely going to be a cap on the number of taxis that an operator can have. Other features will include mandatory installation of GPS and panic buttons in cabs. We have also formulated penalties for violations of norms that would be laid down,” the official added.
The City Taxi Scheme 2015 was mainly aimed at regulation of radio cabs. “Since then there has been a proliferation of cab services in the city, there are no proper regulatory measures for them at present,” said the official.
“The new scheme has been prepared after many deliberations and in consultation with the public and stakeholders. We have prepared a very thorough draft,” the official added. The draft being prepared by Delhi government’s transport department will now be sent to the Delhi transport ministry and after the nod from the cabinet, it will be forwarded to the lieutenant governor.
In 2015, the existing Radio Taxi Scheme – 2006 and Economy Taxi Scheme – 2010 were amalgamated in the City Taxi Scheme. The taxis with All India Tourist Permit were not part of 2015 scheme and are not likely to be part of the 2017 scheme either.
In the 2015 City Taxi Scheme, vehicles of capacity 600 CC onwards were covered. In the group category of the scheme, a minimum fleet of 200 was required and the maximum number was 2,500. The scheme had made it mandatory to have LCD display on top of the vehicles in green and red colour for availability and occupied category. The scheme also said that bills would be generated as per rates notified by government.
Source: Times Of India
