Trying to book a call taxi during peak hours? You might want to keep an eye on the meter to see how much they are charging you. Most call-taxi services in the city are now levying ‘peak hour charges’ which are much higher than regular charges of the taxi service.
For many passengers, the final bill comes as a shock, but without any government regulation of taxi fares in the city, they have no way to complain.
R. Christina, a resident of Besant Nagar who frequently uses call taxis, says the service is a bad option during peak hours. “Many cab services advertise much lower rates, but when it comes to peak hour charges, they all charge around double of the normal rates,” she says.
Even haggling with autorickshaws works out cheaper, during the peak hours from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., she says. “The fares are much higher than what’s advertised, and even on their websites, many cab services do not mention a peak hour charge. It is only at the end of the trip we know how much we have been charged,” she says.
A few weeks ago, in Karnataka, around 100 Ola cabs were seized because their peak hour charges were much higher than the government-regulated fares.
Although the government has been planning to fix the rates, nothing has happened so far. “We are currently working on a plan to ensure both autorickshaw drivers and call-taxi drivers can survive together. Once we finalise the plan, we will fix the fares,” says an official from the transport department.
Where are the
AC buses?
It’s that time of the year again, when the temperature is poised to cross 35 degrees Celsius and tempers begin to fray, especially among people who wait in the hot sun for buses.
Commuters look forward to more airconditioned buses to beat the heat.
As on date, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) operates 100 airconditioned buses. However, most of them are operated on long-distance routes, especially on Beach Road, for better revenue.
“Due to this there are no such buses connecting destinations within the city. Commuters have no option but to bear the heat,” says J. Shanmugavelu, a resident of Nungambakkam.
Commuters want MTC to increase the number of airconditioned buses on routes that have malls and other places of entertainment, as it is holiday season. “There should also be such buses from and to Chennai Central and Koyambedu bus terminus,” says S. Padmasini, a resident of Mylapore.
She says the Chennai Corporation should also install proper shelters at bus stops. “In many places, there is no roof. Commuters are forced to stand under the hot sun,” she says.
(Reporting by
Kavita Kishore
and Vivek Narayanan)
