Ride-sharing services set to resume in Capital
New Delhi: In a major push to reduce vehicular pollution and ease traffic congestion, the Delhi government on Wednesday announced that ride-sharing services will resume in the national capital, with a structured carpooling framework to follow. The decision came after Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa chaired a high-level meeting with leading mobility aggregators including Ola, Uber and Rapido at the Delhi Secretariat.
Addressing the meeting, Sirsa said the government was acting on multiple fronts to tackle air pollution. “The Delhi Government is working proactively on four fronts, vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, dust pollution and waste management, so that citizens can breathe cleaner air,” he said, stressing that partnerships with aggregators are crucial to reducing the traffic load.
The Minister directed aggregators to restart ride-sharing services at the earliest, noting that shared rides directly reduce the number of vehicles on roads. Aggregators informed the government that certain technical and operational preparations were required, following which they were instructed to ensure full deployment of ride-sharing features within a month.
Carpooling also figured prominently in the discussions. Sirsa emphasised that it should remain a non-commercial shared mobility option and has the potential to significantly cut emissions during peak hours. Aggregators were asked to immediately begin developing in-app carpooling modules, while the Transport Department was directed to examine the legal framework and submit recommendations to facilitate carpooling in Delhi.
Highlighting the government’s push for electric mobility, the Minister said privately registered electric vehicles should be allowed to join aggregator platforms without commercial permits or fees. The Transport Department has been tasked with examining regulatory and safety aspects to enable wider participation of private EV owners.
The Minister also called for expansion of bus and shuttle services on high-demand office routes to strengthen last-mile connectivity. “For effective pollution control, we must ensure that more people shift from private vehicles to public transport and shared mobility,” he said.
Urging public participation, Sirsa appealed, “The sooner we start large-scale ride sharing and carpooling, we will see fewer vehicles on our roads. I appeal to the people of Delhi to actively choose ride sharing and carpooling options so that together we can reduce pollution levels in the city.”
The meeting was held in coordination with the Transport Department under Transport Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, reinforcing the government’s integrated approach towards cleaner and greener urban mobility.
