NTL Cabs gets a green signal from Delhi

Uber and others yet to respond to clarifications sought by city govt

Chennai-based NTL Call Taxi became the first company, on Friday, to receive a green signal from the Delhi transport authority to operate under the Radio Taxi Scheme.

The applications of Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola Cabs are still to be cleared. All had applied and the government sent 'deficiency memos', outlining gaps in their applications. According to a government official, only NTL responded with the needed clarifications, resulting in a letter of intent being issued to it.

NTL has been in operation since 1999 in Tamil Nadu and seeks to expand in Delhi and Banguluru. It has a fleet of around 3,000. The company will have to furnish a bank guarantee within seven days, before it gets a formal go-ahead.

Most cab aggregators have been operating in the capital without a licence and by defying ban orders. The department sent ‘deficiency memos’ to these on January 24.

The authorities say Uber and TaxiForSure have not given an affidavit that they follow the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, along with the Information Technology Act, 2000. While its taxis are governed by the former law, the web-based application comes under the purview of the latter, says the transport authority.

The companies in question say they ought to be governed by the IT Act, as theirs' is a technology platform, not a taxi company in the traditional sense. The delay in their responding to the transport authority's notices could be due to this clause. Aprameya R, co-founder and director at TaxiForSure had earlier told Business Standard, “We are working on the clarifications sought by them and are in the process to submit the same.”