Drive pushes taxis off the city roads

RTO officials estimate there are over 40,000 black and yellow taxis. “Though the number sounds more,it is less compared to demand. The city is growing and so are earnings of people. Taxis have become a mode of transport for many who want to skip trains and buses,” said an RTO official.

RTO officials say over 15,000 dormant permits need to be sold and there is a scope of adding this many to the city roads.

The state government’s decision to phase out taxis 25 years old or more had invited criticism. “If 300 old taxis are scrapped every month,only 200 are replaced. One-third of these taxis simply disappear as owners don’t have enough money to buy a new taxi. This results in shortage,” said A L Quadros,general secretary of the Mumbai Taximen Union.

Quadros said,”But there are around 20,000 taxis which are off the roads as there are no drivers. The state government has such stringent norms that drivers from other states find it difficult to get licences,” said. Vikhe-Patil says,“It is not true that there is a shortage of drivers. There were around 20,000 permits lying dormant for various reasons. We issued them notices thrice,but there was hardly any response. That is why we decided to auction these permits. This would help at least more fleet taxis to run.” The move to auction permits has,however,got little response.