Tourists at taxi operators’ mercy

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 4

With no check on taxi operators, tourists and locals are at their mercy and forced to pay exorbitant charges.

Despite court orders, the successive governments have failed to force taxi operators to install meters due to pressure by taxi unions.

The government is seeking subsidised flights on the pattern of North-Eastern states but has failed to rationalise taxi fares. Taxi operators are charging between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,600 for dropping passengers to the Jubbarhatti airport from Shimla, a distance of 22 km.

The charges are same from the airport to Shimla and extra charges are demanded for dropping at some particular location. There are no luxury buses by the HRTC or tourism corporation to ferry passengers to the town.

The Transport Department has also failed to fix taxi charges. The situation is no different in Kullu and passengers have to pay Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,000 from the Bhuntar airport to Manali, a distance of 48 km, and even taxis from Manali are not permitted by the taxi union to pick up or drop passengers.

The cheap flights have no meaning when taxi charges are so high, said Sanjay Chopra, who paid Rs 1,600 from the Jubbarhatti airport to Shimla and Rs 1,500 from Shimla to the airport.

Even within the town, there was no check on fares and Rs 300 to Rs 600 were charged for less than 12-km distance, he said.

The matter regarding introducing metered taxis are nowhere in the priorities of the government and passengers are at the receiving end and made to pay through their nose.

Even trucks are charging heavy freight and industrial associations have been demanding its rationalisation to break the monopoly of transport unions. However, the government has failed to break the cartels and truck operators unions are in complete command on the transport sector.

Costly affair

• Taxi operators are charging between Rs 1,200 and  Rs 1,600 for dropping passengers to the Jubbarhatti airport from Shimla, a distance of 22 km 
• The charges are same from the airport to Shimla and extra charges are demanded for dropping at some particular location
• The situation is no different in Kullu and passengers have to pay Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,000 from the Bhuntar airport to Manali, a distance of 48 km