Delhi govt considering revival of shared taxi rides to curb pollution

New Delhi: The Delhi government is banking on shared mobility, electric vehicles and stricter fitness checks for commercial vehicles as key pillars of its pollution control strategy, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Friday. Addressing the growing vehicular load in the national capital, the Chief Minister underlined that “effective pollution control is not possible without reducing the number of vehicles on the roads.”

The government, she said, is actively promoting shared transport and electric mobility to ensure that “a limited number of vehicles serve the maximum number of passengers,” leading to smoother traffic flow and lower emissions. “The core objective of our transport policy is to reduce vehicles on roads while ensuring passengers do not face inconvenience in their daily commute,” the Chief Minister stated.

To improve last-mile connectivity and passenger convenience, the Delhi Government will soon hold a special meeting with transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Ola and Uber. “We expect aggregators to prioritise shared rides, increase participation of women drivers and promote environment-friendly services,” she said. The government is also considering reviving shared taxi services that existed in Delhi before the COVID-19 pandemic but were later discontinued.

The upcoming discussions will also explore integrating private electric vehicles into taxi services. “Our aim is to ensure fewer vehicles can safely, conveniently and affordably transport a larger number of passengers,” Gupta said, adding that increasing women drivers in taxi services would offer safer and more reliable travel options for women commuters.

On vehicular pollution checks, the Chief Minister said the government is rapidly expanding automated commercial vehicle fitness testing infrastructure.