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Journalism of Courage
There8217;s a warlike situation out there in Mumbai8217;s streets. The Mumbai Taximen8217;s Union has made another verbal incursion in territory that automobile owners regard as their own. A L Quadros, combative general secretary of the union, says public roads are being blocked by a privileged few. He has called once again for private cars to be banned from the city.
Nitin Dossa, firing back from the heights of the WIAA, demands to know what nine lakh carwallahs are supposed to do: hang out of trains and buses? It would all be quite laughable but for the fact that the verbal skirmishes are about a real problem. There are too many taxis on the road and too many private cars as well. Between them and with help from various species of commercial vehicles they turn Mumbai8217;s roads into hell for each other and for millions who do not ride four-wheelers. So what is to be done? The taxis want the roads to themselves. There are too many of them already, the business is unremumerative, clogged roads make working conditions terrible.
If there were fewer taxis, there would be peace on the roads and the air would be cleaner. The carwallahs have a point too. So what is to be done? Ask a third uninvolved party like the pedestrian and you will probably be told the answer is to cut back both taxis and private cars, the first by delicensing polluting vehicles and the second by a Singapore-type permission to enter the city only on alternate days. To fill the gaps, the city should license a large fleet of mini-buses. That would be much less expensive than the hovercrafts, metro rail and airconditioned trains proposed by the WIAA.
Mini-buses will take care of the short hops that most people take in the day. For longer distances, train and regular bus services should be improved for everyone8217;s benefit.
