LI Network
Published on: February 8, 2024 at 14:05 IST
The Delhi High Court has been informed that Rapido, the cab aggregator, has failed to address accessibility issues for persons with disabilities despite multiple app updates and bug fixes.
The Court was handling a petition that sought directions to make app-based cab aggregators more user-friendly and accessible for individuals with disabilities. The issue was raised during the hearing of the case of Amar Jain and Dipto Ghosh Chaudhary against Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd (Rapido) and others.
Justice Subramonium Prasad took note of the matter on February 2 and has sought a response from Rapido regarding the reported accessibility barriers faced by disabled users of their services.
The plea, filed by disability rights activist Amar Jain and visually impaired banker Dipto Ghosh Chaudhary, emphasized that Rapido’s mobile ride application does not adequately address the accessibility needs of disabled individuals.
The Court had earlier issued a notice in November 2023 to the Central government concerning the matter. The recent application filed by the petitioners highlighted that despite multiple updates to the Rapido mobile application for both iOS and Android versions, none of the concerns raised by the petitioners had been addressed. The application criticized Rapido for its apparent casual and insensitive attitude toward the issue.
The petitioners outlined specific issues that remained unaddressed, including the inability of visually impaired users to independently cancel a ride, track the driver’s location, or message drivers within the app. They also pointed out that critical buttons in the app, such as those for selecting vendors for payments, are unlabeled, rendering them inaccessible.
Despite six updates having taken place, the petitioners claimed that none of the flagged issues had been resolved, underscoring Rapido’s lack of responsiveness.
The Court has sought Rapido’s response on these matters, and the case is scheduled for the next hearing on April 2.
