KOLKATA: With taxis set to stay off roads on Monday, brace for commuting trouble on the first day of the week.
Following the government's refusal to relent on no-refusal fine, cabbies will join a rally at Esplanade on Monday before embarking on a bigger movement. Even though there is no official announcement of a taxi strike, the rally will ensure that they do not ply. There is more bad news in store for commuters. From Wednesday, buses too will go off the roads for three consecutive days over the demand of a fare hike.
A flash taxi strike, however, is nothing new in the city. The week before, taxis went off the roads twice as cabbies joined a meeting and rallies against the Rs 3,000 fine for refusing passengers. Usually, taxi refusal fine is Rs 100. However, with refusal complaints pouring in from all corners of the city, the government proposed a Rs 3,000 penalty against drivers and then implemented it. The fine is imposed for violation of permit conditions that clearly prohibit refusals.
But cabbies, most of whom run taxis against a daily rent for the carriage, want to reserve the right to refuse. "The high price of diesel and spare parts has left us with hardly any option but to refuse. We just cannot afford to have an empty run after dropping a passenger at a place that is out of the city or on its outskirts. If the government allows us to hike fare, refusals will automatically go down," said Shankar Prasad of Taxi Men's Union.
The state, on the other hand, has stuck to its ground and said it won't revise the fare. Moreover, it has given no assurance to cabbies on revoking the refusal fine. Citu leader Subhas Mukhopadhyay said: "Taxi drivers will join the meeting at Esplanade. Who will drive taxis in their absence? It is the concern of the taxi owners."
But what both Mukhopadhyay and AITUC leader Nawal Kishor Srivastava hinted at was that the crisis was not going to be over unless the government changed its stance. The first shift in position, they claimed, would be revoking the exorbitant fine.
According to sources, taxi workers' unions might merge their movement with the proposed three-day bus strike to make the stir complete. If that happens, the city would be heading towards a collapse. The state will try to plug the demand-supply gap as far as availability of buses is concerned. But it is hard to plug the gap. The simple reason is the state transport utilities (STUs) have a fleet of 3,500 buses whereas private operators control 8,000-odd buses and minibuses.
But unlike the previous Left Front government, which was an easy prey to such strikes, the Trinamool government is taking reform measures to break the private monopoly. The transport department has taken a two-pronged approach. It is increasing its own fleet through procurement of JNNURM buses and also by putting an end to the undesirable competition between five state corporations. The process has already begun.
On the Rs 3,000 fine, transport minister Madan Mitra said: "The Left Front government had devised it. The cabbies must be aware of their responsibilities. They must stop refusing passengers. If they do it, I will revoke the fine." Mitra ruled out the possibility of any truce with the cabbies.
Monday Problem
Taxis going off road — 25,000
Only, 4,000 out of 8000 private buses will be plying
Saving grace
State transport utilities will run full fleet — 3,500 AC and non-AC buses
Autos — nearly 60,000 autos will be plying overtime, of course, at higher fare.
Metro service will be as usual.
Wednesday Crisis
Around 8,000 buses will be going off from the city and suburban roads.
35,000 taxis might join the strike
Saving grace
State transport utilities will run full fleet — 3,500 AC and non-AC buses
Autos — nearly 60,000 autos will be plying of course at an exorbitant fare
Metro service will be as usual.
Following the government's refusal to relent on no-refusal fine, cabbies will join a rally at Esplanade on Monday before embarking on a bigger movement. Even though there is no official announcement of a taxi strike, the rally will ensure that they do not ply. There is more bad news in store for commuters. From Wednesday, buses too will go off the roads for three consecutive days over the demand of a fare hike.
A flash taxi strike, however, is nothing new in the city. The week before, taxis went off the roads twice as cabbies joined a meeting and rallies against the Rs 3,000 fine for refusing passengers. Usually, taxi refusal fine is Rs 100. However, with refusal complaints pouring in from all corners of the city, the government proposed a Rs 3,000 penalty against drivers and then implemented it. The fine is imposed for violation of permit conditions that clearly prohibit refusals.
But cabbies, most of whom run taxis against a daily rent for the carriage, want to reserve the right to refuse. "The high price of diesel and spare parts has left us with hardly any option but to refuse. We just cannot afford to have an empty run after dropping a passenger at a place that is out of the city or on its outskirts. If the government allows us to hike fare, refusals will automatically go down," said Shankar Prasad of Taxi Men's Union.
The state, on the other hand, has stuck to its ground and said it won't revise the fare. Moreover, it has given no assurance to cabbies on revoking the refusal fine. Citu leader Subhas Mukhopadhyay said: "Taxi drivers will join the meeting at Esplanade. Who will drive taxis in their absence? It is the concern of the taxi owners."
But what both Mukhopadhyay and AITUC leader Nawal Kishor Srivastava hinted at was that the crisis was not going to be over unless the government changed its stance. The first shift in position, they claimed, would be revoking the exorbitant fine.
According to sources, taxi workers' unions might merge their movement with the proposed three-day bus strike to make the stir complete. If that happens, the city would be heading towards a collapse. The state will try to plug the demand-supply gap as far as availability of buses is concerned. But it is hard to plug the gap. The simple reason is the state transport utilities (STUs) have a fleet of 3,500 buses whereas private operators control 8,000-odd buses and minibuses.
But unlike the previous Left Front government, which was an easy prey to such strikes, the Trinamool government is taking reform measures to break the private monopoly. The transport department has taken a two-pronged approach. It is increasing its own fleet through procurement of JNNURM buses and also by putting an end to the undesirable competition between five state corporations. The process has already begun.
On the Rs 3,000 fine, transport minister Madan Mitra said: "The Left Front government had devised it. The cabbies must be aware of their responsibilities. They must stop refusing passengers. If they do it, I will revoke the fine." Mitra ruled out the possibility of any truce with the cabbies.
Monday Problem
Taxis going off road — 25,000
Only, 4,000 out of 8000 private buses will be plying
Saving grace
State transport utilities will run full fleet — 3,500 AC and non-AC buses
Autos — nearly 60,000 autos will be plying overtime, of course, at higher fare.
Metro service will be as usual.
Wednesday Crisis
Around 8,000 buses will be going off from the city and suburban roads.
35,000 taxis might join the strike
Saving grace
State transport utilities will run full fleet — 3,500 AC and non-AC buses
Autos — nearly 60,000 autos will be plying of course at an exorbitant fare
Metro service will be as usual.
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