Passenger safety concerns rise over irregularities in Mumbai's app-based cab aggregators

Despite having one of the most extensive public transport networks in the country Mumbairsquos daily commute has been increasingly dependent on appbased cab aggregators and bike taxis However several commuters have claimed that lax monitoring of such services is raising concerns about passenger safety and accountability Many regular users of ridehailing platforms say discrepancies between driver details on the app and those on the ground have become common and such irregularities are being ignoredNandini KeluskarBooked cab from Shivaji Park Dadar to Sion railway stationExperience According to the app a white Swift Dzire would pick me up on March 7 However a white Alto came instead Annoyed I asked the driver for his name He said it was Danish but the name that appeared on my app was Rizwan Sayyed Questioned he said that was his ldquoshethrsquosrdquo name I asked him if he at least had his licence and he said again that it was with his ldquoshethrdquo I made him call the latter who then said that the driverrsquos Aadhaar card mentioned his name as Rizwan Sayyed and that he was in fact Danish Later the person driving the vehicle claimed his name was Arbaaz Feeling unsafe I made him halt the vehicle when I spotted a traffic cop On investigation it was revealed that the driver mdash whatever his actual name was mdash had just turned 18 and had just had a learning licence What if something had gone wrong during that journey The ldquoshethrdquo was just fined 500 for letting a learnerrsquos licencebearer drive his vehicle unsupervised by a licence holderPrathamesh JadhavBooked a biketaxi from Nagardas Road Andheri East to Andheri railway stationExperience The numbers mismatched and when I tried making a complaint to one of the traffic cops at Andheri railway station after making the payment I couldnrsquot show him the ride details When the cop asked how I paid the driver I told him that the latter had requested me to make payment on his personal QR code Thatrsquos when the cop told me that if we do not make the payments via the apprsquos QR code the ride details do not appear in the lsquoMy Ridesrsquo section of certain appsMuskaan RathoreBooked cab from Bhandup residence to Thane railway stationExperience We booked an SUV with ample boot space for luggage But the car that came was a CNG hatchback meaning it had a cylinder behind the rear seats This apart the number plate didnrsquot match the number on the app Asked about this the driver claimed he had brought a friendrsquos vehicle We had to cancel the ride and bear the cancellation charges of 70 We had left earlier considering that roads are never empty in the city so we could manage But what if someone had an emergency or was running lateProvisional licences scrappedThe state government has cancelled the provisional licences of biketaxi operators after authorities found they were operating services without complying with required transport regulations in Mumbai and nearby areas Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said strict action will be taken against firms violating norms Officials cited safety concerns as enforcement teams continue cracking down on illegal bike taxi operations across the Mumbai Metropolitan RegionTeen sawaal with transport joint commissioner Bharat KalaskarWhy does the city still not have a proper policy for aggregator servicesItrsquos been almost two months since we drafted the policy for aggregator services We are awaiting a goahead on this draft proposalWhat should passengers do in such situationsReport them immediately to the aggregator through feedback on its app On the ground immediately report to the nearest traffic police station or press the SOS button available inside all cabs For biketaxis take photos and videos and inform the nearest trafficregular police stationsConsidering that the vehicle is allowed to be registered in anyonersquos name and driven by anyone else what should be the right way in case of aggregator servicesThe contact details and name mentioned on the aggregator app must be of the one driving and picking up the passenger The vehicle can be registered in anyonersquos name