High taxi fares may play spoilsport for UDAN scheme

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 27

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme from the Jubbarhatti airport in the suburbs of Shimla, the residents are apprehensive about exorbitant and unregulated taxi fares.

The UDAN scheme provides subsidised air flights from 50 unserved and underserved airports for their optimum utilisation and in case taxi charges are not regulated and luxury buses are not plied, the entire effort to facilitate the common man to fly would be rendered futile.

“The one-way subsidised airfare between Shimla and Delhi has been fixed at Rs 1,920, but the taxi operators are charging Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 for dropping and picking passengers from airport, which is just 23 km from here,” said senior citizen Avinash Kumar, who visits AIIMS in New Delhi once in three months for check-up.

“The Tourism and Civil Aviation Department should ply regular luxury buses from the airport and the fare should reasonable which should be incorporated in the airfare so that passengers do not face any inconvenience and are not fleeced by unscrupulous taxi drivers,” said Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor, Shimla.

“Ashok, a taxi operator, when contacted and asked for dropping at Jubbarhatti airport from Shimla, demanded Rs 1,400 and in case passengers have to pay the taxi charges at the other end also, the taxi charges will be more than the airfare, which is totally unjustified,” said Azaad Singh, a Delhi-based businessman.