Metro may derail cabbie dream run

HYDERABAD: If the Metro chugs into the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, it will cut short the dream run of unscrupulous cab drivers, who have been taking passengers landing at the airport, especially those arriving on late night flights, for a ride.

"Extending the Metro rail to Shamshabad will solve the travel woes of passengers," said transportation expert Prof C S R K Prasad, who has carried out several transportationrelated studies.

Enquiries have revealed that drivers operating on apps like Ola and Uber form a clique and create an artificial scarcity by making themselves unavailable on these apps.Instead they operate independently and agree to ply only if passengers agree to cough up higher fares - which could be as high as three times what the passenger would otherwise pay to reach his destination in the city from the airport.

According to sources, this racket has been thriving for quite some time now with agents representing drivers approaching the passengers and quoting a high sum by telling them no cabs are available. Another trick that cabbies working with cab aggregators are reportedly playing on hapless passengers is that despite being assigned a passenger, they make them cancel the trip so that they can ply on their own. Some drivers also refuse to ply if the passenger wants to make an online payment and demand only cash.

While is this almost an everyday affair, the woes of passengers get compounded during weekends and festival da ys. The passenger convenience apart, the Metro will also help reduce pollution and fuel consumption as well as ease traffic congestion on the stretch, according to Prof Prasad of the department of civil engineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal.

It will also greatly benefit those coming from the districts. "When people arrive at MGBS or get down at the Secunderabad railway station, Metro rail connectivity to the airport will be a great relief," he said.