Kejriwal wages war on ‘overcharging’ cab operators

A day after 18 Ola and Uber cabs were impounded for overcharging, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday reiterated that his government would not tolerate ‘overcharging and blackmailing’ by the taxi aggregators.

“Overcharging, diesel cars, drivers without license/badges n blackmailing by taxi aggregators won't be allowed,” Kejriwal tweeted.

However, he added that the state government was not against taxi aggregators and fully supported them as they provided an importance service to the people but asserted that they had to follow the law and could not be exempted.

“Some taxis saying they'll not provide cab if they're not allowed to loot. This is open blackmailing n govt won't let that happen,” the CM said in a tweet which he deleted later.

Earlier, as many as 18 cabs from Ola and Uber were impounded by the Delhi Transport Department for charging more than the prescribed limit during the odd-even scheme presently underway in the national capital.

The move follows after a warning by Kejriwal, who assured strict action, including impounding of cabs, if the app-based taxis were found charging more than the prescribed rates.

Ola and Uber had announced that they were suspending the surge pricing after the Delhi government's call of strict action.

However, Uber did not specify if the surge pricing would resume after the second phase of the odd-even scheme, which ends on April 30.

Transport Minister Gopal Rai had earlier told ANI that apart from impounding taxis, they would also seize the licences of the taxi drivers and cancel their permits.

Under the odd-even scheme, aimed at battling pollution, diesel and petrol driven private vehicles with odd registration numbers can ply only on odd dates and those with even registration numbers on even dates.

The passengers complained that taxis were over-charging taking advantage of the scheme.