Mumbai: Traffic cops file 7,482 cases of fare refusals till Oct

Thanks to the series of crackdowns against errant drivers by the Mumbai traffic police, around 7,482 cases of fare refusals have been registered against autorickshaw and taxi drivers till October this year.

Thanks to the series of crackdowns against errant drivers by the traffic police, around 7,482 cases of fare refusals have been registered against autorickshaw and taxi drivers till October this year.

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“Taking the increasing number of complaints into account, we started conducting surprise checks at various spots in the city. Posing as passengers, our staff members tried to board autorickshaws and taxis. When they refused to ply, we penalised them,” said Dr BK Upadhyay, joint commissioner of police, traffic.

Of the 7,482 cases, 853 were registered in October. To make it easier for commuters to complain against errant drivers, the police launched a special service via micro-blogging websites, from November 1.

“We have received good response from commuters as they can simply tweet the auto/taxi registration number to lodge a fare refusal complaint. We have traced 30-40 such drivers based on the tweets by commuters so far,” said Upadhyay.

Meanwhile, the regional transport office, too, initiated a similar drive against errant drivers in October. While the Tardeo RTO took action against 150 taxis, the Andheri RTO penalised over 100 auto drivers.

“There are more refusals during peak hours and the time when the drivers change shifts. We are trying to talk to auto and taxi unions, so they reach a solution to this problem,” said an official from Tardeo RTO, on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.