KOLKATA: Come September and
commuters in Kolkata won’t have to consult the revised meter chart supplied by cabby. At least, that is what the state transport department claims. According to the department, digital meters of all the taxis plying in the city will have to be recalibrated before September 1.
The department had earlier set a
recalibration deadline of August 15 for the entire fleet of cabs plying in the
Kolkata Metropolitan area. It, however, had to extend the deadline by two more weeks, since many of the taxis are yet to recalibrate their meters.
According to the latest data with the government, around 6,000 cabs need to be recalibrated during this period. The vendors, who took up the task of recalibrating the meters of 30,000 yellow and white metered cabs, are to blame for the delay, said officials. The fare was revised on June 6. Though the number of vendors doing the job was increased and the recalibrated meters were tested at four places — Beltala, Salt Lake, Kasba and Behala — it took a lot more time than expected. The recalibration of a meter usually takes 45 minutes to an hour.
From September 1, if any taxi plies without a recalibrated meter, it will be a case of violation of permit condition, according to the transport department. Fines may be imposed under Section 192A of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for contravention of permit condition.
In absence of the recalibrated meters, commuters were immensely confused. Many alleged that cabs are charging excess fare on the pretext of not having a calibrated meter. “Some passengers refused to pay the fare according to the table issued by the regional transport authority,” said Sanjib Roy of Bengal Taxi Association (BTA).
The base fare for taxis is now Rs 30, up from Rs 25. It is simple to calculate taxi fares, claimed an official. “Earlier, the fare used to rise by Rs 2.40 for every 200m. Now, it will be Rs 3 for every 200m after the first 2km. So, after travelling 2.2km, the meter will show Rs 27.4, but the commuter will have to pay Rs 33.”
Taxi operators’ associations expressed satisfaction, saying the revision gave them a level playing field with app cabs. BTA secretary Bimal Guha said, “Now that the government has fixed the fare issue, we are dutybound to do away with the refusal menace. Passengers must also demand fare print-outs. Our new slogan would be: ‘No printout, no fare’,” he said.
