Why banning Uber in Delhi is a ridiculous joke

There's a silly joke that goes like this: "I read about the ill-effects of drinking liquor, so I quit reading". I can't help but draw a comparison with the Delhi government's flimsy and kneejerk decision today to ban Uber taxis in the capital because of the rape that took place. Does the city government actually believe this will help solve the malaise of crimes against women? This move is one step as ridiculously close to banning all women from stepping out of their homes come sundown. Or banning unescorted women to be served drinks at a bar or a restaurant post-8pm.

As details of the rape case come out into the open, it is clear that the cab service Uber was at fault. We now know that their driver verification programme was not only flawed and unscrupulous, but so was their recruitment process. They should have at least known that their driver was a hardened criminal, a rapist, who had less than four years ago done time in jail. That, according to the police, the car used by the accused did not have GPS or any other tracking device.

What's more, we feel immensely let down, because finally here was a cab service in the city that made you feel safe. It made a city like Delhi easier to navigate, especially post-sundown. You were no longer dependent on other people to drive you around, autos refusing to take you or fleecing you by not wanting to go by the meter, waiting for hours on end to get through to the call centre service to book a cab (and that too not being sure if it would get confirmed), and let us not even mention the fear of travelling in a bus. 

Uber was our answer to safe travel. One felt that its tracking service was an unspoken code for our safety - that somebody out there was watching out for us and making sure that the car did not stray off the route. This warm sense of assuredness allowed the victim, a 27-year-old financial executive, to catch a few winks after a long day at work and going out for a drink in the evening with friends. 

A friend of mine would use it constantly for his little sister to travel and meet her friends at night. It was what made him sleep well at night, knowing his sister was safe. The sheer service of the taxi app was a boon to the nightlife and tourism of the city, it was peeling off that tough veneer that women have to gamble their safety and life just to step out. It is unfortunate and regrettable that this incident took place, but to ban the service makes no sense whatsoever.

Just last evening I took an Uber from Gurgaon to Nizamuddin West late in the evening. The driver, in his 50s, was the owner of the car and had been working for Uber for the last four months. His mouth fell open when I asked him if he knew about the incident. He said he hadn't a chance to catch the news.

"It's really unfortunate," he kept saying. "There will be consequences. The driver is anyway such a cursed class..."

I can't help but bring up the case of the killer Redline buses that created havoc a few years ago running over hundreds of people in the city. What did the government do? They decided to ban it. After a few months, when people began to protest about the paucity of public transport, the government decided to paint the same buses blue - thus Blueline - and reinstate all the drivers again. The killings haven't stopped, nor will the rapes, until the right action is taken.