Govt may ask Ola, Uber to give women option to choose ride-sharing partners

Uber/Ola

In view of enhancing safety measures for women taking shared taxi services, the government is mulling over bringing an “exclusive women pooling” option to allow them to choose their co-passengers.

This comes in the wake of incidents where passengers were harassed or assaulted by drivers or co-passengers. The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry will reach out to cab aggregators like Ola and Uber to discuss the idea, reports Hindustan Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the sources, the ministry will soon call a meeting with representatives of cab services to put forward the idea. “This is one option we are mulling to enhance safety of women using shared taxi services,” one of the sources told the publication.

The idea of giving women passengers the option of choosing co-passengers was brought up by Union Women and Child (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi last week.

It came after a woman was allegedly molested and forced to strip by an Ola cab driver, who even threatened to call his friends and get her gangraped, while she was en route to the airport in Bengaluru.

The idea was welcomed by cab service giant Uber. In talks with the publication, an Uber spokesperson said the company was committed to working with the government and other stakeholders towards partnering on road as well as rider and driver safety initiatives.