JOIN USAs cabs lie in wait, traffic piles up on busy roads
Cabs attached to taxi aggregators waiting for customers are blocking peak hour traffic by parking on busy roads for long durations.
Dhananjay D Gowda, who rides from Ulsoor to Marathahalli for work, sees several cabs parked on the road waiting for customers through the app. “Taxis parked one behind the other is a common sight and the numbers are on the rise. This further narrows the road, creating more bottlenecks. For example, around 10 cars stopping on one particular stretch looking for an alert message will only hinder smooth movement of vehicles leading to lane indiscipline,” he said.
However, Rajesh Naik, a cab driver, contests claims of traffic blocks. He says: “Unless the government provides a lawful parking space, there is no option but to halt the taxi on road and look for customers. This is how the app works. It will not detect my car unless I am close to a potential passenger. The whole idea is to reach the customer in less than five minutes,” he said, adding there is no demand for cabs in less populated areas and residential areas.
When contacted, Ruchica Tomar, a spokesperson of Uber, denied cab drivers park on the road for long. “There is high demand for our cabs in the City. By the end of one drive, the driver gets an alert from another passenger. Hence, there is a perpetual drive,” she said, and hastened to add that there could be brief stops sometimes.
Tomar felt that aggregators have discouraged people from using their own cars as cab aggregating apps gave them an option to locate the nearest car in less than three minutes. “This has resulted in fewer private cars on the road, as our utility services are reliable,” she said.
1,000 cases
Former Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem told Deccan Herald that there were complaints of cabs obstructing traffic in the heart of the City. “The department has booked at least 1,000 cases in the last one month under IPC Section 283 (Danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation). The cases were referred to the court and the vehicles were seized. This is when drivers came out in protest against the traffic department,” he said.
Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda said the department does not have separate data on how many cars are registered with different aggregators. “We are working on guidelines and the government needs to approve it for us to take control over these aggregators. It will take some time,” he said.
One lakh cabs
Radhakrishna Holla, general secretary of Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Owners’ Association, said the State government, which issued permission for cab aggregators, should have ensured a regulatory mechanism before doing so.
“At present, there are about one lakh cabs in the City, while the number was less than 50,000 two years ago. This is because of the incentives given by the aggregators to buy cars and register under them. It is unethical, as many who purchased the vehicles are made to slog for hours in the name of offers,” he said.
Holla also admitted that vehicles are being parked to reach customers at the earliest. “Except a few paid parking lots, there are no parking places meant exclusively for taxis in the City.”
“Hence, drivers are forced to park by the road briefly. It’s the responsibility of the government to provide parking space, when it collects crores of rupees in motor vehicle and road taxes,” he said.