Taxi union to challenge govt speed limit order in HC

The sudden imposition of a speed limit of 80kmph on vehicles weighing below 3,500 kg, which includes taxis, small tempos, etc, by the state government, has left the city's taxi union rattled. The union is now planning to challenge the order at the Bombay High Court.

"Without providing any clarity, a sudden notification to install speed governors was put up. Also, no stakeholder meeting was held by the Transport Department to hear us out; therefore, we are thinking of approaching the HC to demand an exemption," said AL Quadros, Leader, Taximen's Union, Mumbai.

Quadros said that on an average the speed of black and yellow cabs in Mumbai, as well as the entire Mumbai metropolitan region is around 12 kmph. "Also, black and yellow cabs also have no cases of accident where fatalities were caused due to over speeding. This shows that we are being made a scapegoat to increase the sales of speed governors," he said.

Meanwhile, several tourist cab operators who ferry people intercity said that their business will take a serious hit. "If we have to drive below 80kmph speed, the time taken to reach the destinations will increase by a few hours, whereas people book cabs only to reduce their commute time. This way, we might lose a chunk of our customers to bus services," said a tourist operator based in Dadar.

SB Sahasrabudhe, Joint Transport Commissioner, said that the state government order was based on the notification issued by the Central Government. "There are several vehicles, which already have an inbuilt electronic controlled unit that restrict the speed to 80kmph. Those without it can get a speed governor fitted. The order only talks about the speed restriction; how it's to be implemented is left to the discretion of the vehicle owners," he said.