Year-end party time: ‘safe’ drivers hard to find

“As the traffic police has tightened their drive,the demand for drivers has gone up. We have been witnessing it since December 23 and it is expected till January 3. Even in case of youngsters,parents ensure that when their children are out partying,the car is driven by a driver,” says Dnyaneshwar Shelke who owns a car service.

Engineer Vishwas Deshmukh and his nine friends are planning to go to Turf Club on New Year’s eve and have ensured that they take along a driver. “Whenever we go out for partying,we make sure we are accompanied by a driver, despite the fact that all of us are good drivers. It is safe and avoids unnecessary hassles,” says Deshmukh.

Another driver and car rental agency has only four of its 15 cars on outstation duty this week. The rest are booked for city for the year-end-partygoers. “As far as drivers are concerned,we are catering to three to four clients every day contrary to no or maximum one client per day within city limits,” says Rohit Puranik,owner.

Drivers for small cars charge Rs 500-600 and Rs 800-900 for Mercedes,BMW and other high-end cars within city travel for one night.