20 April,2010 11:05 AM IST | | Team Mid Day
There has been a marked decrease in number of cabbies who refuse to ply
In the third week of the campaign undertaken by MiD DAY-Radio One with the Mumbai Traffic Police, Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the Taxi Union, 21 offenders were booked. However, there were no offenders at Peninsula Centre at Lower Parel and at Plaza Cinema at Dadar.
Here's whatu00a0we found
Reporter: mritunjay kumar
Location: Churchgate
Time: 5.30 PM TO 7.00 PM
Offenders caught: 4
There has been a dip in the number of errant taxi drivers, as the commuters have now started to appreciate the campaign. Zafar Gazi from Sion was trying hard to hail a taxi to CST but the cabbie, Ramesh Kumar Gupta, refused to ply even when the meter position showed 'for hire'. PSI Avinash Kamble fined another cabbie, Mohammed Shafi Adam, who refused to ply to Kamathipura. As soon as he saw the cops, he started repeating that his taxi in not in order, and said "Meri taxi ka tyre puncture ho gaya hai."
Another commuter, Anusha Shinde, thanked the police for their help and support and appreciated the campaign.
Reporter: Ramkumar Iyer
Location: Sion
Time: 9.00u00a0am - 11.30u00a0am and 5.00u00a0pm - 7.30u00a0pm
Offenders caught: 5
The taxi stand was rather empty yesterday, with cabbies dutifully accepting to ply to anywhere the commuters wished. A cabbie who wished to remain anonymous said, "We look for long distance fares because we earn more with less work, and get more free time as a result. I agree that it's a bad habit; we refuse short distance fares automatically. It seems that this campaign will be effective in breaking such habits."
Reporter: Shailesh Bhatia
Location: Khar and Bandra
Time: 10 am to 1.30 pm and u00a02.15 pm to 8 pm
Offenders caught: 12
"We have driven the point home to the erring cab drivers to polish up their act, or face the music," said Senior PI Suresh Patil, Bandra Traffic. Patil's words reflected in the dwindling cases of taxis refusing short fares, which barely managed to scrape past the double figure mark in a 10-hour shift.
An elderly cab driver, Yusuf, was let off the hook on humanitarian grounds, when he refused a long distance fare to High Street Phoenix to a couple. Yusuf pleaded that his age did not permit him to travel all the way to South Mumbai and he was more comfortable plying short distances in the suburbs.
Reporter: Roshan Rizvi
Location: Dadar
Time: 5 pm TO 7 pm
Offenders caught: 0
Due to the impact of the campaign, there were no offenders at Dadar. Some even thanked MiD DAY for the campaign. Shabab Abedi, a passenger, said, "I am very thankful to MiD DAY for raising this issue. I hope it continues." PSI More, Dadar Traffic Police, said, "Until penalised, these people won't learn. Before the campaign started, there were many complaints and just two weeks into it, the cabbies have started to behave."
