Don’t be surprised if a cabbie greets you before getting into the vehicle in the city.
A multi-level training programme to clean up the act of autorickshaw and taxi drivers will soon begin in Kochi in the face of a rise in complaints about their rude behaviour to customers. The programme to be initiated by Synergians, a group of young management professionals, is designed to help drivers overhaul their image and improve their skills.
“The objective is to smarten them up and teach them proper customer service, a safety culture, common courtesies in dealing with passengers and model road behaviour. With this, Kochi will return to its old times when courtesy ruled,” said Sijin B.T., president of the organisation.
As part of it, the organisers are making a 10-minute short film in which District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam may play the role of a taxi driver while Deputy Mayor B. Bhadra will act as the traveller. The video will be screened in a specially designed vehicle, which will reach out to all taxi-auto stands in the city.
“I have decided to associate with this programme as it will help build the image of Kochi as a passenger-friendly city,” the Deputy Mayor said.
Along with the video, a 10-minute learning session for the drivers will be held, following which the drivers will be given a ‘Smart Indian Driver’ sticker to be displayed in their vehicle.
In the second stage, the drivers will be given training in statutory, technical and passenger service management techniques, which will be followed up with a brief training in first aid programme.
The behavioural change among the drivers will be assessed in the final stage and those successfully completing the programme will be provided with a certification and green colour badge.
The programme will take off to a start with the training of nearly 500 taxi drivers at the city airport after June 15.
