New Delhi: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Thursday sought inclusion of more women-driven and GPS-enabled taxis, among other measures, to ensure safety of female commuters.
She made these suggestions to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, whose ministry is preparing regulatory guidelines for cab aggregators.
Her proposals also include presence of a glass metal or mesh between the driver and the rear seat, and cab driver's details, including identification, licence and registration number, to be displayed prominently inside and outside the vehicle.
A series of posts from the Twitter handle of her ministry read, "Smt. Maneka Gandhi has requested Sh Nitin Gadkari to incorporate safety measures for women passengers using taxi services (sic).
"Smt Maneka Gandhi has submitted 5 points for consideration to be included in the regulatory guidelines being prepared by MORTH India (sic)."
While the minister suggested that all taxis mandatorily be GPS-enabled, she also requested for central locking system to be disabled in such cabs in case of exigencies and demanded strict penal action, including seizure of vehicle, in case of violations.
The ministry also said that it has issued advice on "What women and girls can do to keep themselves safe while travelling by taxis and cabs."