The Delhi High Court has told bike-taxi aggregator Rapido to submit an audit report on the accessibility of its services for persons with disabilities within three months.
Justice Sanjeev Narula, while hearing a petition by disability rights activist Amar Jain and visually-impaired banker Dipto Ghosh Chaudhary, said the audit will be done by an ‘Access Auditor’ empanelled with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The petitioners, who have visual impairment, have raised concerns regarding accessibility of the mobile application of Rapido for persons with disability. According to them, the App fails to cater to the needs of disabled individuals raising serious concerns in terms of ensuring equal accessibility to the services.
Advocate Rahul Bajaj, representing them, highlighted certain features within the App that fall short in terms of compatibility with softwares which increase accessibility such as screen reading softwares, etc, thus rendering the application significantly unusable by persons with disability.
Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, which owns Rapido, assured that it was taking various accessibility measures in terms of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and that it was committed to ensuring their continuous effectiveness and improvement.
The court, in it August 28 order, directed Rapido to also submit a compliance report after the counsel for the petitioners said it must be ensured that the aggregator abides by its commitments.
Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd said it was “actively working” on making its mobile application “fully accessible” to individuals with disabilities and being a startup, the update was expected to take approximately six to eight months to complete.
The company said it is, “in the process of implementing comprehensive training programs for its captains and staff to ensure they can provide rides to individuals with disabilities in a supportive and accommodating manner”.
“This initiative includes training on sensitivity, awareness, and the specific needs of persons with disabilities, as mandated under Section 47 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act),” it said.
“The training programs are designed to equip the captains and staff with the necessary knowledge and skills to cater to the diverse requirements of disabled individuals, thereby fostering an environment of inclusivity and compliance with the statutory obligations under the RPWD Act,” it added.
Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd further stated that it would establish a robust and continuous monitoring and feedback mechanism for assessing the implementation and efficacy of the accessibility measures adopted by it.
The court listed the matter for hearing on December 6 and also asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to file its response to the petition.