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Many women, particularly working professionals, in the Indian capital use radio cabs every day after dark, be it returning from the office, a party or the airport.
But the latest incident of an alleged rape of a female finance professional by a radio cab driver in Delhi has raised the issue of females' safety with unknown drivers after dark.
"I take radio cabs to return home often if I have to work late. But, the latest incident really scares me. I doubt I'd feel any safer if I were to hire an ordinary taxi, but it seems as though the claims of the call-out services are just hot air," said Rubi Singh, a working woman.
On Friday night, a 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped in a secluded place in the national capital by the driver of a cab, which she had hired to take her home, after she attended a party.
The cab, which she claimed to have booked through her smartphone, belonged to Uber, a U.S.-based company which enables customers to book and pay for taxis online, and claims that " safety is paramount" and it tracks all its taxi journeys through GPS.
"But what it failed to do is to conduct a criminal verification of the driver as required by radio cab companies operating in Delhi. The company should also be charged for negligence in this rape case," said another working woman, Nitu Sharma.
The accused taxi driver, who was subsequently arrested for the rape by the police, it has since emerged, was jailed for seven months in a similar case some years back.
Moreover, the police have said that Uber did not have GPS systems fitted in its cabs.
"Our initial investigations have revealed shortcomings of the private cab company which didn't have GPS installed in its cabs," Special Commissioner of the Delhi Police, Deepak Mishra, told the media.
However, Uber said in a statement that "we work with licensed driver-partners to provide a safe transportation option, with layers of safeguards such as driver and vehicle information, and ETA-sharing (estimated time of arrival) to ensure there is accountability and traceability of all trips."
Some women also blame the government for failing to provide safe modes of public transportation for them particularly at night.
"Congress has been in power in the Indian capital for the last 15 years, but it has done nothing in terms of women's public safety. We hope the Indian government will now do something for us, " said Sukanya Roy, who works for a hotel in Delhi.
"My shift often gets extended. Instead of waiting for the hotel 's car drop-off service, I often take radio cabs to get home quicker. But, I will have to make some safer arrangements now that this incident has happened," she added.
In December 2012, a 23-year-old medical student was brutally and fatally gang-raped by six men on a moving bus in the nation's capital, which she had boarded along with her boyfriend after watching a movie at a multiplex.
But nothing seems to have changed on the ground, despite the Delhi police trying to ensure women's safety and the Indian government last year amending the rape laws to deal more harshly with sex offenders.
