Western Railway cracked the whip on taxis operating illegally at Mumbai Central station; the drive has been extended to Bandra Terminus as well
In a concentrated effort, the Western Railway (WR) and Regional Transport Office (RTO) have started weeding out unscrupulous cabbies that fleece passengers outside Mumbai Central station. Ten cabbies have been barred from entering the railway premises for operating illegally.
The RTO had started prepaid taxi stands to prevent cabbies from fleecing passengers. File pic for representation
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Sources stated that when the authorities were making arrangements for the Road Safety Fortnight, which started on January 10, they found some black and yellow taxis parked outside of the queue at Mumbai Central station. After WR’s commercial department officials — under whom the prepaid taxi stand has been started — questioned them, they got to know that these drivers were operating illegally.
Overcharging
These cabbies would catch passengers as soon as they came out from the station, without allowing them to go towards the prepaid taxi stand.
“They used to decide a fixed amount as fare from these passengers and didn’t go by the meter or the prepaid taxi format,” said a WR official. The cabbies would also ensure that they charged little less than the prepaid amount at first, and overcharge once they reach the destination.
This was brought to the notice of the Mumbai Central RTO. The WR and RTO began a crackdown on these cabbies starting at Mumbai Central, and later extended it to Bandra Terminus. Sources in the RTO said that registration numbers of 20 taxis, which refused to go by meter, were added to the list. Further, these taxis were blocked and their licenses cancelled for operating wrongly. “Permission of 10 taxis, which were wrongly operating has been cancelled. We have also given details of 20 other taxis to the RTO,” said Shailendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), WR.
Now, these taxi owners and permit holders will have to take a no objection certificate from WR authorities before they can enter the railway premises. The officials are now ensuring that every cab is in line and is parked properly on the designated location along with the passengers who need to form a queue.
The RTO had formulated the prepaid taxi stand to prevent such taxi drivers from fleecing passengers. When passengers avail the prepaid taxi service, they are provided with proper receipts along with details of the vehicle and taxi driver.
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