Soon, prepaid cab service at railway stations

KOCHI: Unpleasant incidents of autorickshaw drivers fleecing passengers who have to travel longer distances than the prescribed limit in the pre-paid fare chart may soon be a thing of the past. For the taxi operators are planning to set up a pre-paid system on the lines on autorickshaws at the two major railway stations in the city. Describing the condition of the taxi drivers as bad owing to poor patronage, the Ernakulam District Taxi Union (CITU) suggested that the union would fully support the idea of opening pre-paid counters at both the railway stations.“As of now, people who have to travel longer distance board autorickshaws. In such cases the fare would be even lower for taxis,” union secretary John Fernandez said. He said the union would discuss the scope of such a system for the benefit of taxi workers.According to Regional Transport Officer T J Thomas the suggestion is good provided there was sufficient support from the union to operate the facility.  “The Motor Vehicles Department had encountered difficulties in running the pre-paid auto counters at the railway stations. Later, they were handed over to the police,” he said. The international airport at Nedumbassery has pre-paid taxi system running effectively in association with taxi operators.However, the situation is different there the counter levies `1 as service charge for every 1 km.The flurry of unauthorised taxi operators in the field is also a matter of concern. The taxi drivers are facing competition from those operating illegally, says John Fernandes.Private vehicles operate as taxis and encroach upon the domain of the genuine players. He said there are 3,000 private taxis operating clandestinely. “It is impossible to tackle the problem. The illegal operators get all the benefits by doing so, including paying of taxes,” he said.This has hit nearly 5,000 taxi workers in the district. Though the government’s welfare scheme for the taxi drivers was one of the best, they were not reaching the drivers owing to various reasons like owner defaulting payment of `150 monthly.