Uber to review India operations, beef up screening

NEW DELHI — Uber, the popular United States cab-hailing company banned in New Delhi, said it will carry out a review of its India operations and beef up driver screening as it seeks to reach an agreement with the government to restart services.

The federal government asked states to ban Uber on Tuesday amid concerns about passenger safety after one of the company’s drivers was arrested for allegedly raping a young female passenger in New Delhi.

The case has caused an uproar in India after it emerged that the suspect had been previously charged with sexual offences, including rape. Uber failed to uncover the charges because it does not carry out background checks on drivers in India.

“Let us acknowledge that we must do better,” Uber said in a statement yesterday, adding that it wants to resume operations in New Delhi. “The events of this week have made us reflect on our operations in India and we are immediately undertaking a number of important actions.”

The company said it would evaluate its customer support and the way it handles passenger feedback, and re-review previous passenger comments after a client said she had lodged a complaint with Uber about the behaviour of the driver 10 days before the attack.

An Indian court sent the Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting the 27-year-old financial executive to judicial custody for two weeks yesterday.

Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey ordered the accused, 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav, to be kept in Delhi’s Tihar jail until Dec 24. He also asked the police to explain steps taken against Uber executives.

The company has hit an increasing pile-up of regulatory and legal hurdles this week, with the use of its mobile application challenged from India to California. Agencies