Taxi drivers refuse to clean up their image

Following the Metro service and recently announced decrease in gas and petrol prices, one would have expected the Rawalpindi taxi drivers to go about their business in an honest way and not to demand unreasonable fare. Nothing of the sort has happened and the drivers have refused to clean-up their image.

“Some of them fleece passengers, asking abnormally high fares for short distances. And in broad daylight, let alone late evening,” says Qurban Hussain from Dhoke Hafiz. “Why do they refuse to go where they are asked? Nauman Haider, a taxi driver from Fazal Town, explains: “I don’t agree with what the drivers do.

Many drivers ask for extra fare the moment they assess that the passenger is well-off — by looking at their dress and getup. Then they cite traffic jam problems which cause them to take a longer route.”

“Drivers ask for double fare from Faizabad to Saddar and in many congested areas like it. In addition, there are also many one-ways here. In other areas, it is the problem of passengers — will they get a return passenger? If they think they won’t, they charge high. And many charge high fare because they know several are dependent on taxis that they desperately want to reach office or home,” says Nemat Hussain, from TCS stop.

Refusal to go to certain areas is another major problem. Munawwar Naqvi, a driver for 30 years, explains, “We calculate whether we will get a passenger at the other end; if we think we won’t, we are compelled to refuse.”

“If there are areas that don’t have offices, areas far away from bus stands and railway stations, taxi drivers won’t come. Drivers also don’t come because they restrict themselves to their own areas. For example, an Islamabad driver doesn’t come to Pindi. They form clusters and they don’t go out of those clusters,’’ says Syed Dildar Ali from Qulzar-e-Quaid.

Traffic, too, keeps taxi drivers away, if there’s heavy traffic such as on Islamabad Expressway, the waiting time is too much and the returns for waiting are not attractive. Muhammad Taqi, a frequent taxi passenger from Pindi says: “Every time I try to get a taxi from Koral Chowk, the driver asks for more citing traffic jams up to PWD Town.”

Mushtaq Hasan from Pakki Thathi, who has got an auto shop in Airport Housing Society, says: “This route requires only the minimum fare, but taxi drivers ask for more. Why should I pay more in broad daylight, even if I am getting late?”

Parveen Rizvi, a banking professional who travels from Jilani Colony to Islamabad, says. “The moment you say ‘Islamabad via Islamabad Expressway’, no one comes, especially in the office hours. They say the traffic is too heavy, that waiting time would be high and they lose customers. Some even tell me that they are sick and tired of driving in heavy traffic. But what has the public got to do with this? They run taxis not to make money, but for public convenience.”

Sajjad Ali, an hotelier, explains: “Here some taxi drivers simply refuse to go anywhere till late evening. They operate as a gang. They know just one trip at night will fetch them good money and if they do two, they can manage more. They know their customers and the areas where they live. Ask them to come to any other place, and they refuse. If they agree, they ask for four times the minimum.”