Why auto, taxi mafias are rampant at 3 of busiest Mumbai train stations

With prepaid taxi counters and stands either out of operation or missing altogether at major railway terminuses in the citys suburbs theres nothing to stop auto and taxi drivers from taking commuters for a ride midday found this to be the case particularly at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus LTT Bandra Terminus and Borivli station all notorious for the auto and taxi mafia fleecing passengersWhile there is a prepaid taxi stand at Bandra Terminus midday discovered it has been shut for the last six months after the contractor refused to renew the services This allegedly is also due to pressure from the auto and taxi mafiaThe prepaid taxi booth outside Bandra Terminus is nonoperationalAccording to members of the taxi union the prepaid taxi service shut down because many passengers were unaware of the facility and instead chose to call for an Ola or Uber to save money But these cabs too are no longer an option because of strong opposition from the taxi unions Due to traffic jams and altercations with angry unions Ola and Uber cabs can sometimes also take a long time to arrive at the station As a result many passengers give in to whatever exorbitant demands the local taximen and auto drivers makeTaxis and autos even park illegally on the Bandra Terminus flyover waiting for passengers PicsShadab KhanBandra terminus also has specific lanes where autos and kaalipeelis are supposed to wait for passengers but the drivers have abandoned this space Instead they crowd right at the stations exit or even on the platforms waiting to bombard unsuspecting travellers as soon as they alight from trains Many of these cabbies and autowallahs dont bother to wear their uniform either and often charge double or more than the regular tariff middays reporter tried to notify the authorities of the issue but found no one at the stationmasters officeMeanwhile Ramakant Pandey president of the Chalak Malak Sena at Bandra East said The prepaid taxi contractor stopped functioning here at Bandra terminus due heavy losses Even our business has gone down due to private cabs like Ola Uber Despite this we have instructed our union members to follow the tariff rulesPassengers being refused at outside LTTBack to breaking rules at LTTJust a day after the traffic police caught and fined over 100 auto drivers at LTT for plying without their uniform and for harassing passengers at the terminus the errant autowallahs were back at it on Sunday midday spotted several auto and taxi drivers in civil clothes at the station A railway official said It is true that drivers approach commuters at the station platform Sometimes we receive complaints which are forwarded to the Railway Protection Force We cant do much elseAuto drivers not in uniformWhile this station has a working prepaid stand it hardly gets any business Rizwan Khan who works at the prepaid booth said A maximum of 20 to 25 people book taxis from here in a day Sometimes its as less as four to five taxi bookings I see other taxi and auto drivers looting passengers but cant do anything about itPassenger Manju Chhabra arguing with an auto driver outside Borivli stationNo prepaid taxi service at BorivliBorivli station does not even have a prepaid taxi service but it does have taxi and auto stands on both the east and west exits from the station Despite this passengers face difficulties every day Most auto and taxi drivers fix their own fare instead of going by meter If a passenger insists on paying by meter many of the drivers refused the fare Even if one driver not from the local union agrees to take a passengers by meter or for a reasonable fare other drivers gherao the vehicle resulting in a quarrelMoreover the union drivers dont even allow Ola and Uber cabs within 200 metres of the station Ranjeet Singh Mumbai president of the Dhadak Morcha Union said Ola Uber taxis have had a bad effect on our business That is why we prevent them from picking up passengers within 200 meters of the stationHe also claimed that the taxi union drivers do not refuse fares when asked to go by meter We do not deny those who want to go by the meter We also want the government to start a prepaid service here like at the airport Borivli RPF Inspector Surendra Chaudhary said We havent received such complaints from any commuters If we do we will act accordinglyDrivers enter compartments even before the train stopsVoices slugSmita Jain passenger from JaisalmerEven before our train halted at Bandra terminus auto and taxi drivers had managed to enter the compartment Now I am waiting with my kids while my husband haggles with the drivers Why cant they just ply by meterAnand Ahuja passenger from AhmedabadEarlier there was a prepaid taxi stand but it is no longer functioning Now the drivers charge us double From here to Ulwe it should cost hardly R700 but they ask for Rs 1500 Ola or Uber will take 2030 minutes to arrive so we have no choice but to agree to the demandsManju Chhabra passenger from AhmedabadWe were waiting at Borivli stations taxi stand but most drivers refused to go by meter They demanded double of what Ola and Uber were charging One cabbie agreed to take us but others came to fight with him Only after a long argument did we manage to leaveAmit Sangoi daily commuterThe Borivli West taxi stand situated has merely become a sharing taxi stand Only the union taxis and autos ply here Most of them refuse shortdistance faresCommuters speakShaikh Mujibur Rehman passenger at LTTI wanted to go to Andheri SEEPZ and the maximum fare for that destination is Rs 170 to Rs 200 But here no one seems ready to go by meter and they are demanding Rs 250 to ply This is a very serious issue and authorities need to think about usRizwan Shaikh passenger at LTTI wanted to go Sakinaka For that the drivers here are demanding Rs 300 If I go by meter it will hardly take Rs 100 to Rs 150 but they are demanding any fare they want People are neither seen following the law nor fearing copsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news 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