KOLKATA: To tackle the neverending queues outside the Kolkata airport’s prepaid taxi counters, Bidhannagar Police on Monday rolled out an
app that will enable passengers to book a prepaid yellow taxi from their smartphones like an app cab.
TOI had reported on September 3 how visitors reaching the city by late evening flights were forced to stand in long queues at the prepaid taxi counter. Unscrupulous drivers, in cahoots with touts, took advantage of the delay and deliberately created a vacuum to allow the latter to book the same taxis at premium rates.
“We received complaints about the growing queues of pre-paid taxis at the airport. Hence, we decided to develop a pre-paid taxi app where passengers can book their cars in advance even before boarding a flight from another city or while waiting at the baggage carousel area,” said a senior officer. The app, ‘Bidhannagar Police Prepaid Taxi’, is now available on Google Playstore.
“The payment must be made online. The customer will then receive a QR code, which must be scanned at the counter to obtain the ticket,” he added.
The officer added passengers will get pre-allocated taxis. “However, the booking will be cancelled if the passenger doesn’t reach the pick-up point within 10 minutes of the booked time,” he said.
Representative image
