Taxi aggregator Uber has suspended operations in Delhi, it said in an email to customers this evening. The service was banned by Delhi government on Monday, after an Uber driver raped a passenger in Delhi Friday night.
In an interview to HuffPost India on Tuesday, Uber Asia head Allen Penn had remained non-committal about complying with the ban. Subsequently, more states had banned Uber, following a home ministry advisory to disallow app-based taxi aggregators.
In its email to customers Thursday evening, Uber did not mention the ban, but said it was suspending operations to conduct a review and "reflect on our operations in India". The message is not signed by anyone.
Here is the full text of the email.
MOVING TO A SAFER DELHI, TOGETHER
Hey [Name Redacted],
We are sorry and deeply saddened by what happened over the weekend in New Delhi. Our hearts go out to the victim of this
horrible crime. We have been and will continue to do everything in our power to assist the authorities to help bring the perpetrator to justice.
The events of this week have made us reflect on our operations in India and we are immediately undertaking a number of important actions. During this review, we will suspend operations in New Delhi.
First, let us acknowledge that we must do better; and we are conducting a full audit of our verification, rider feedback and support processes. We are implementing measures to ensure that critical rider feedback is escalated immediately and immediate action is taken in every instance. We are also re-reviewing rider feedback on every driver partner across India to make sure nothing has been missed.
Second, we are assessing all driver screening processes. We are evaluating additional screening options to include background checks on all our driver partners in India above and beyond what is currently required.
Third, we will also bring in our global best practices where it would enhance our India safety efforts.
Fourth, we will also partner closely with organisations that are championing women’s safety here in New Delhi and around the country.
Safety is our top priority. We are fully committed to partnering with and are in discussions with the government, other transportation organisations and safety experts in India to implement robust solutions to ensure a safe ride.
Our efforts will not end there. Uber stands shoulder to shoulder with the cities we serve, and are investing in technology advances to help make cities a safer place.
Your support means a lot to us. We will come back better and stronger for the New Delhi community, ready to serve you again.
The email also has details about how to get a refund of the customers' money remaining in the Paytm wallet that riders used to pay for Uber trips.