Three reasons why Delhi can't ban Uber

The rape of a 27-year-old woman on Friday night in Delhi was horrid and an inexcusable crime. However, most of the reactions on social media against the cab service whose driver is the alleged rapist have been largely uninformed and far from reasonable. Uber has been a boon to millions of people. They have publicly done far more to ensure the safety of its customers (not passengers; as they don’t own the taxis) than any taxi provider has. As a show of faith, the company has been valued at $41bn worldwide. The kneejerk reaction to ban the app by the Delhi government is pointless, here's why Delhi can't ban the app:

1.) Uber is not required to do the background checks, the state is: The driver needs to have a commercial driving licence. Before issuing one, the state is supposed to do a check. The website of Delhi Transport corporation clearly states that: “In case of private licence the record is not verified if the particulars seems to be clear on the licence. However, for commercial licence the particulars are verified from the issuing authority. The renewal of licence in case of private licence is done on the same day but for commercial licence the renewal is made after verification of the particulars.” The person responsible for expansion in India at Uber, Neeraj Singhal, confirmed that Uber’s due process relies on the state to get it right. The “check is done by the government when you get your [commercial driving license]. It includes the criminal history and background check, it includes traffic violation history and things like that,” Singhal said.

2.) Other countries have tried to ban it but in vain: They have used older laws that require certain permits to operate a taxi, specific insurance, or based on physical location of the service rendered. As you read this the Netherlands have banned the app and they have threatened a driver with fine of €10,000 plus the company with €100,000 if caught. Despite the ruling Uber gave a bullish response: “This is merely the first step in a long lasting legal battle. We will appeal. Now it is up to the government to speed up modernising the law and not wait until the end of 2015." In USA too Uber has flagrantly flouted the laws of Oregon state by launching in Portland despite being banned. Simply because it’s almost impossible to nail them. Portland is split between two states and the people on one side of the bridge are allowed but not the other. It eludes me as to how Delhi Traffic Police will do what the Americans or the Dutch have failed at.

3.) They are not based in India: In other countries the app has a company through which they do transactions. However in India, they do the transactions through Paytm. So while all the transactions are being done in India, the money is leaving just as quickly for a tax haven. Uber has been using a loophole that lets transactions with outflow in foreign exchange to be exempt from the authentication required for Rupee transactions such as pin or one time password. In addition, neither the app nor the website is hosted in India. The office is actually a rented room in Gurgaon’s Park Residency Hotel. In which, they use the conference room to meet, train and hire drivers. They only have three executives per city. Unless India adopts Chinese style internet filters. The people who have the app will still be able to use it. Also, why stop at Uber then? As a precaution why shouldn't they ban other taxi services such as Ola, Meru and Easy Cabs. Uber's fault is that they relied on a broken and corrupt system which failed to highlight the previous convictions. I have used Uber in eight countries and I hope I can continue to enjoy it at home.

PS: Even a day after the ban as I write this there are a still numbers of Ubers available on the app plying the road.