CHENNAI: Pressure to meet ‘unrealistic’ targets to get incentives often force us to commit traffic offences, said a section of taxi drivers in the city.
For instance, a driver plying an app-based taxi in
Chennai becomes eligible for an incentive only if he earns Rs 7,500-8,000 or completes 60 trips within four days, including 25 trips during peak hours. Also, a driver loses a ride if he does not reach the customer’s pick-up point within the estimated time calculated by the app.
“We are forced to drive beyond the prescribed speed limit leading to accidents,” said a driver from Chromepet.
Most accidents happen during wee hours as drivers rush to achieve the target within the deadline, usually around 4am.
Drivers are deprived of sleep and do not get proper breaks. In an attempt to prevent this, the state transport department recently came up with an order restricting working hours of yellow-board taxi drivers to eight hours.
“Many drivers don’t have proper accommodation and sleep in their vehicles,” said a traffic policeman. Unable to handle the stress, some get addicted to alcohol or drugs, he said.
Not only employers, even customers put pressure on drivers. “The fare is calculated based on the distance shown by the map. Not realising this, some customers force us to drive through a different route. The server doesn’t calculate the fare based on actual distance travelled and we end up paying the extra amount spent on fuel,” a driver said.
“Besides this, the servers do not include the waiting time during traffic snarls. That burden too is transferred to the drivers,” said
K Anbalagan, a taxi driver. “Of the total revenue made, the employers take 25% as commission. Over and above this, discounts given to customers are taken from the driver’s share,” he added.
The hike in fuel prices, interest on loans and vehicle maintenance are not reflected in the driver’s pay. Weekly incentives have come down from Rs 4,000 during the launch four years ago to Rs 1,000 now.
Representative image
