Photo: Prakhar Pandey
Consequent to the tragic rape of a young lady by an Uber cab driver on December 5, the police and transport authorities in Delhi and Gurgaon have once more embarked on a series of corrective steps - ranging from the urgent to the random. The Delhi government and also a few other States have imposed a ban on the operation of Uber services on their roads. For a brief period even other web-based taxi services were suspended; most had failed to check the antecedents of the drivers that they had hired. After the rape accused was nabbed, based on the details and description provided by the victim, it emerged that he had been earlier charged on at least two similar counts. This habitual sex offender had shut off the GPS tracker on his phone, driven the woman to a secluded place near Inderlok and raped her. He was also carrying a forged character certificate from his local police station.
Radio cabs are now back on the roads. In Gurgaon, the Police have stepped up the checking of drivers across the city - painstakingly scanning driving licences and vehicle documents. But is this an effective way to stop crimes against women? Police Commissioner, Navdeep Singh Virk, says, “It’s difficult, but we use various means to try and prevent crime. In this case, apart from licence checking, if we discover that an individual has any crime record, then we add this data in our ‘Rogues Gallery’ - to help us keep a proper track of him.” But what next? How can the Police better ensure women’s security? Vinod Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), adds, “It is the duty of the vehicle owners to scrutinise their drivers’ licences, and take appropriate action. If during verification (while hiring and even regularly) it turns out that any driver has committed some crime or do not have proper documents, then he should not be hired…or removed from service”.
Sushmita Ghosh, a resident, states, “Suddenly our traffic policemen seem to have become quite active in checking – though of course the traffic issue during peak hours is yet to be resolved. The verification drive is welcome. However, my concern is on properly the process is being carried out.” And how much of an impact do these verification drives really have on the cab drivers, most of whom are migrants from neighbouring provinces and other states? Anil Yadav, who owns a car agency, says the real impact is very little. He states, “I appreciate the initiative taken by the government, but such steps will never help stop crime. This has just become a new process of earning money. They are only harassing our drivers. “There are about two lakh drivers in NCR, most of them are migrants. In Gurgaon, the majority of them are from West Bengal, Bihar and UP. Their licences have been issued from their native places. At present the system is that they have to go their native place for their renewal or for any missing documents. The drive has led to many of them having to leave the City. I don't deny that the owners need to conduct a proper check, and that drivers need to behave better. Perhaps a basic behaviourial class, for them to understand city folk better, would help. Civic society members should help in this.” But transport officials have a different take. “Drivers openly flout rules and systems, and that can only be stopped with strict inspections and stiff penalties. For example, many migrants are driving heavy commercial vehicles without the requisite licence,” says Manoj, from the RTA (transport authority). The spurt in spot-checking has upset most of the drivers. Bikas, a driver from West Bengal, laments, “I went back to my hometown to get proper documentation. I thought I had got everything. When I returned, every day I would go and stand in a long queue, for verification; but when my turn came, they asked me to go back and get some more documents. There are a few who have left NCR and will only come back after this verification process ends. Some others have started driving autos. We all came here to earn money and we understand the need for rules and regulations, but sometimes the experience is unnerving." Of course, all this shows that the verification drive has been fairly robust.
After the Uber rape case many valid questions have been raised on the safety of ‘app-based taxis’. It is evident that the security provided by technology is limited. For one, services like Uber don't own the cabs in their fleet, and even don’t ensure that the vehicles are GPS-fitted. Even with a GPS installed, all that a rogue driver needs to do is to switch off the phone. Clearly, nothing has been able to replace good old-fashioned policing of the roads. In recent years many women working in NCR (and women are joining the workforce with a vengeance) have been sexually assaulted. The young are also frequenting pubs and nightspots after office hours, often without a male ‘escort’. When returning home late, the safety of a taxi service has probably been the last thing on their minds. So, is ‘pink taxis’ the answer now? In fact providers like Ola have already launched pink cabs. On this, Vinod Kaushik, DCP Traffic, observes, “Hopefully this idea will catch on in the coming years.” It seems that the NCR should get ready for more pink taxis as well as orientation classes for drivers…though not so many more cops on the roads, Will all this make it safer for women? Or will they remain as vulnerable as before. The truth is that such ‘urgent’ moves (after every highly disturbing ‘event’) are becoming more random…rather than part of an integrated, comprehensive plan for women’s safety. And we are not even talking (women’s) liberation yet.
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