Chennai taxis to have new rules
Posted on: 28/Sep/2013 12:59:57 PM
Very soon all the call taxis of Chennai will carry a GPS device, and operators should be able to track every vehicle in their fleet at any time.
On Friday, a technical committee formed by the transport commissioner made a presentation on the regulations required to streamline the sector
Every operator has to register with the state transport authority giving details about the number of drivers, permits their vehicles have, and the type of vehicles they run.
Operators are not accountable for passenger safety.Once the regulations are in place, the government will have better control over the sector. For example, if a woman complains of harassment by the driver, at present, the operator can wash its hands off the case. "Every registered operator needs to have a complaint redressal mechanism. GPS devices will be part of the rules," said the official. Unregistered operators will not be allowed to ply vehicles.
The authority has also come up with rules for vehicles. "As cars used for operations travel much more than an average vehicle, they cannot be more than five years old," said the official. "The operator should show parking space for at least 50% of the fleet," said the official. The committee visited Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to observe the systems there. "Unlike autorickshaws, we will not fix fares for taxis. We have not received complaints about them and market pressure has kept prices low," said the official.
