Cab-sharing to restart as Delhi pushes carpooling

Ride-sharing might be back on the Capital's roads by the end of January after the Delhi government said on Wednesday that it directed cab aggregators to revive a practice abandoned during the pandemic five years ago over Covid transmission concerns.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the government held a high-level meeting with aggregator services which included Ola, Uber and Rapido on Tuesday and asked the firms to ensure full deployment of ride-sharing functionality on their platforms within a month. Aggregators were also asked to look at carpooling functionalities, Sirsa added.

"All ride-hailing aggregators have been asked to restart ridesharing services in Delhi at the earliest, as it directly reduces the number of vehicles on the road and lowers emissions," said Sirsa, adding that aggregators pointed out that certain technical and operational preparations were required for this move.

"Accordingly, they were instructed to ensure full deployment of ride-sharing functionality on their platforms within one month for Delhi and into NCR," he said, clarifying while the ride will be hailed in Delhi but they can then take these cabs into NCR too. Other measures suggested include incentivising green ride options and introducing in-app features that display emission savings, allowing users to visualise the environmental benefits of choosing shared or electric rides. The meeting, which included senior officials from the transport department, also focused on carpooling.