Call taxis calling shots

By Akila Dinakar

CHENNAI, AUG. 21. Call Taxi services are doing a roaring business in the city. Operating on a taxi cab permit with fixed meter rates, the services are giving the autorickshaw and tourist taxi sectors a run for their money.

While three groups - Bharati, Chennai and Fast Track Call Taxis - are functioning with around 100 vehicles each, several more are planning to enter this segment which is increasingly popular.

Customers are preferring this system to the tourist taxis for the fast service it offers. The convenience of having to just call a telephone number, which is painted on the car, and an electronic meter service makes them attractive. The customer's address is recorded and the office screens the list of vacant vehicles on the computer. The message is sent to the driver nearest the customer's residence or boarding point to ensure that the vehicle reaches in five minutes after the booking was done.

A director of Chennai Call Taxi, Mr. B. Rajendran, says his company operates 108 Ambassador cars, charging a fare of a minimum of Rs. 30 for three km and Rs. 8 for every additional km. Most of the calls come from South Madras for taking passengers towards the airport and Chennai Central railway stations.

An association of Call Taxi drivers has written to the Transport Commissioner seeking to provide Call Taxi permit for the vehicles. The system is operating successfully in Bangalore and other three metros, he says. Customers prefer call taxis as tourist taxis collect on a per day basis or for a minimum of five hours.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has written to the Transport Department regarding the use of LPG cylinders by some call taxi drivers. Though the taxi operators claimed that they were running on diesel and petrol, one official said, ``on record it is petrol, off record it is LPG''. The call taxis were able to offer lower fares to customers owing to the use of LPG which was more economical, an operator said. With the Government not having approved the use of LPG cylinders in the present form, customers wonder whether the call taxis conform to safety standards for public service vehicles.

If call taxis have come to stay, taxi cab and autorickshaw drivers feel they are fast getting driven out of the market. One cab operator said the call taxis had literally taken over their contracts for airport and Central Station and several drivers were quitting their jobs as they were not getting enough trips to operate.

The Goodwill Auto Drivers Union said it had appealed to the Government seeking its intervention to regulate the call taxis ``operating without proper permit'' as it was greatly affecting their business.

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Section  : Southern States
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