Choosy taxi travelers leave others in the lurch

For Nisha Grover, 32, a media professional working at One Indiabulls Centre, Parel, getting a taxi to return home in the evening is a tough task. Most cabbies outside her office have fixed arrangements with passengers to drop them to their destinations for a fixed charge during peak hours.

"Most cabbies won't go short distances. They have struck arrangements with regular office-goers to drop them off, even at a slightly lower fare everyday," says Grover. She's not the only one whose complaining.

Rishi Parekh, who works at Sobo Central Mall, Tardeo, says, "The cabbies have arrangements with people living in the central and western suburbs from whom they get Rs300 to Rs500 for a single ride. They will reduce the fare by about Rs50 without using the meter. It's a win-win for both."

Travelers say that there is no check on this practice by traffic cops. "We are refused repeatedly. But some will even accommodate four people to their preferred destination, thus earning more. But the cops turn a blind eye to this," says Grover.

Asked why police cannot curb the practice, GV Parmar, police inspector at the Worli traffic police centre, says, when they receive such complaints they summon the drivers and charge penalties. "If required, we suspend their licences. But not everybody comes forward to complain, so we don't get to know how rampant this practice is," he says.

Anand Mandya, deputy commissioner of police, says there's not much that can be done, but if it was an inconvenience to some travelers they would take necessary steps.

"We'll ensure such taxis don't park at the stands and that their meters are off. It is true that black-and-yellow taxis must ply on a first-come-first-served basis and not on a preferential basis," he says.

Taxi union officials maintain that the system, common among office-goers, was based on trust and convenience.

Anthony Quadros, chief of Mumbai Taximen's Union, says, "People prefer to fix the driver to take them to and fro. These are mostly people living in suburbs such as Mulund, Bhandup, Thane. The drivers pick them up from their homes, and then on the way back home. What's so wrong with that?"

The question is should one traveler's preference be allowed to inconvenience others?

Some problem spots
Indiabulls Centre, Elphinstone
One Indiabulls Centre, Parel
Kamla Mills, Elphinstone
Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel
Sobo Mall, Tardeo
Mittal Towers, Nariman Point
Famous Studios, Mahalaxmi