James Delahunty
8 Dec 2014 5:20
Indian's Capital City has reacted to news of an alleged sexual assault on a woman by an Uber driver by banning the service from operating in the city.
Uber India has been operating illegally in New Delhi, according to Special Commissioner of Delhi Transport Department, Satish Mathur. He told the Economic Times that the victim in this case was provided an All India Permit Taxi which is not allowed to ferry customers from point to point in the city.
"We will also be issuing a public notice saying Uber is not authorised to provide any taxi services in the capital so that customers are aware which are the authorised radio Cab services," he said.
"Uber is not a authorised radio cab service and has been operating illegally."
The service is now active in more than 250 cities in 50 countries, and has aggressive expansion plans for the coming year. It recently raised $1.2 billion in a financing round, valuing the firm at a whopping $41 billion. The extra resources will be used partially toward investing in the Asia Pacific region.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is so confident in Uber's ability to grow that he predicts it will generate more than 1 million jobs in cities all over the world in 2015.
The challenging side of Uber's 2014
However, Uber hasn't been free of bad press or criticism for how it operates. Governments, taxi drivers and unions in several countries have gone after Uber as its lower-than-a-taxi fares are impacting the taxi industries, but Uber maintains that competition is healthy and very much required in this industry in particular.
Customers also raised privacy concerns over the data being collected by Uber, and the firm has committed to reform its practices going forward to answer customers.
However, one piece of criticism really hits home in this case, and that is a suggestion that Uber doesn't do enough to vet its drivers. In fact, it is distressing to learn that the alleged rapist in the Indian case was out on bail at the time, and his crime was sexually assaulting a woman in 2011 in his cab.
Kalanick has vowed to support the victim and help bring the man to justice.
"We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery," Kalanick said in a statement.
"We will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs. We will also partner closely with the groups who are leading the way on women's safety here in New Delhi and around the country and invest in technology advances to help make New Delhi a safer city for women."
Sources and Recommended Reading:
Delhi Government bans Uber, says it is misleading customers: economictimes.indiatimes.com