MiD DAY Test Drive: Week 5, Day 2: Zero, zilch, nada

The motormen's strike ensured taxi drivers were too busy cashing in to refuse a fare

The motormen's strike ensured taxi drivers were too busy cashing in to refuse a fare
The motormen's strike seemed to bring out the best in the city's taxi drivers with zero offences in the areas the MiD DAY team was present at. Taxi drivers agreed to ply short distances and most of them were more than happy cashing in on the dearth of transport options for commuters and taking fares for long distances.

HELPING HAND: A traffic police lends a hand to a visually-impaired person to hail a cab at Dadar yesterday. PIC/DATTA KUMBHAR

A senior traffic official, however, said, "While taxi drivers made it a point of not refusing fare in the areas the taxi campaign was on, we did get a few complaints from other parts of the city. There were some reports of overcharging too." The commuters, however, paid even inflated amounts without much fuss.

Some private cars were also seen offering lifts, especially to women, and some policemen were stopping buses to allow woman commuters to board.

Reporter: Utkarsha Kotian
Location: Churchgate
Time: 4.30 pm to 7 pm
Offenders caught: 0
Most people at Churchgate station were waiting for buses, as they couldn't afford taxis for long distances. This ensured that there were no cases of errant drivers. Traffic PSI Bhalerao said, "People seem to prefer buses to taxis today." Salil Patil, a marketing executive, who was waiting for a bus, said, "I'd much rather take a bus today. A taxi will cost more and take the same time."

Reporter: Tulsi Kamath
Location: CST
Time: 4.30 pm to 7 pm
Offenders caught: 0
CST presented a rather unusual sight yesterday -- instead of passengers clamouring for taxis, there were empty taxis with hardly any takers. No taxi driver refused a fare, no matter how short the distance. The strike slowed business for taxis even further here as evening set in.

(Inputs from Debarati Palit)

To register your complaintu00a0Call 022-24937755

This is an exclusive number u00a0given by the traffic police for u00a0MiD DAY readers to register refuse-to-fare complaints.

You can also sms on the MiD DAY number -- 9769874236.

One can also log on to the u00a0special url created by MiD DAY with the traffic police, to file a complaint online on https://tpm.mid-day.com.

MiD DAY is running a special campaign to ensure that YOU no longer have to face these rude cabbies. Watch this space for our daily campaign.