Uber meets Delhi CM but gets no relief

It will not be a smooth ride for cab aggregators in the Capital. Even after meeting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, global cab aggregating giant Uber was not able to convince him to give them some leeway on 'surge' pricing.

Also according to sources, the city government is objecting to the per-minute waiting charge these companies have for passengers.

Uber on Thursday, however, termed the meeting a fruitful one. Its officials said they had a meeting with the Delhi CM and transport minister. Sources in the government said Uber North general manager Gagan Bhatia and some other executives met the CM on Thursday afternoon for a meeting which went on for around an hour and a half. No conclusive solution was worked out.

After the meeting, city transport minister Gopal Rai reiterated that the ban on surge pricing would continue. Sources said Uber had tried to convince the CM about how it was part of their business model. Government officials said the situation would be assessed but the ban would continue.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the CM had accused Uber and its domestically-based rival, Ola, of ‘daylight robbery’. “Surge pricing is daylight robbery. No responsible govt can allow that. Some taxis saying they will not provide (sic) cab if they are not allowed to loot. This is open blackmailing n govt will not let that happen,” he tweeted.

To a suggestion on Twitter that suspension of surge pricing should continue even after the current odd-even plying system till month-end, Kejriwal tweeted, “Yes. We will do it.”

Till now, nothing done by the cab aggregators has managed to win over the Aam Aadmi Party supremo. To smoothen things, Bengaluru-based Ola said on Wednesday it would even offer free rides for its 'Shuttle' bus service on April 22 and 29, under the second phase of the odd-even scheme.

“First, there was an attempt by a section of auto drivers to go on strike. This failed but during the first few days of odd/even-2, we noticed a steep rise in bus breakdowns. These buses were hired specifically for oddeven-2. When we investigated, it was revealed that drivers of these buses were taking money to stop the bus before completing the trip,” he said.

Odd-even has no impact on pollution: CPCB tells NGT

There is no data to suggest the odd-even scheme has led to a decline in vehicular pollution in the national capital, Central Pollution Control Board told National Green Tribunal on Thursday, said the Press Trust of India.

After Kejriwal’s warning to Ola and Uber, 75 cabs on their platform had been impounded since Tuesday evening, on charges of taking more than the prescribed limit, permit violation, fitness, insurance and various other sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, the government said. In his tweets Kejriwal also said that diesel cars, drivers without licences or badges and blackmailing by taxi aggregators would not be allowed.

Odd-even has no impact on vehicular pollution: CPCB tells NGT New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) There is no data to suggest that the odd-even scheme has led to a decline in vehicular pollution in the national capital, CPCB said today.

On being informed about this by the apex pollution monitoring body, the National Green Tribunal asked the Delhi government, which is implementing the second phase of the car- rationing scheme, why 15-year-old vehicles cannot be taken off the roads.

"Prima facie, there is no data to suggest that odd-even scheme has any impact on decrease in vehicular pollution...the fluctuations in PM10 and PM2.5 is due to weather and change in wind patterns," Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

CPCB, which has been asked to analyse ambient air quality data in Delhi, told the green panel that scientific study is going on and it would submit its detailed report on vehicular pollution by May 2.

The tribunal then asked Delhi government to phase out 15- year-old vehicles from roads in order to contain the rising pollution in the capital.

"You are promoting the odd-even scheme so aggressively.

Why don't you take off 15-year-old vehicles from the roads in the same fashion. Please do something," the bench said.

On the last date of hearing, the NGT had directed CPCB to independently monitor and record the data of ambient air quality in Delhi during the ongoing phase of the scheme.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee had informed the green panel that they have been recording the data independently for ambient air quality in the national capital in the context of the fortnight-long scheme that ends on April 30.

Both the teams (CPCB and DPCC) would independently also try to collect the data regarding the kind of vehicles which are permitted to ply and which are actually plying during this period including heavy motor vehicles, particularly those running on diesel.

"Department of Road Transport shall fully cooperate in compliance to these directions. The ambient air quality shall be collected from different places of NCT of Delhi including areas with high vehicular density and low density," the bench had said.