JOIN USSafety features in City cabs have come under scanner following the recent rape of a woman passenger by a cab driver in New Delhi.
Several private taxi operators in the City are found to be violating the safety guidelines set by the Transport department.
The rules prescribe that taxis must be fitted with a GPS (global positioning system) tracking system while many of these vehicles depend solely on the GPS on mobile phone of the driver.
Mobile-based tracking
The taxi cannot be tracked once the once the driver switches off his mobile - as it happened in the Delhi incident.
The Transport department also appears to be found wanting in enforcing the rules. The antecedents of drivers are verified only the time of issuing permit, but are not checked at frequent intervals.
The department depends only on the verification done by the service provider and there is no mechanism to cross check the information independently.
Transport Commissioner Ramegowda told Deccan Herald that the department has constituted a committee for issuing taxi permits. The panel verifies all the relevant documents and antecedents of the drivers as well.
“We have squads for monitoring these services regularly and in case of any violation we even cancel the permits,” he said.
He added that a meeting with the taxi operators had been called next week in the wake of the Delhi incident. The issues pertaining to GPS and tracking system will be discussed at the meeting.
Crucial aspect missed
Surprisingly, the rules of the Transport department miss out on a crucial aspect - police verification of the cab driver which is not mandatory.
Radha Krishna Holla, secretary of the Bangalore Tourists’ and Taxi Operators’ Association said that the offence committed by a single person had brought shame to the entire industry.