Commuters of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Saturday demanded the concerned authorities to force taxi drivers to install meters in their taxis.
Malik Qasim, a commuter said that there is no checking over the rates being charged by taxi drivers. “Without a meter system in taxis the chances of extortion and overcharging multiplies,” he said.
A general image of taxis in the capital is that they overcharge and cheat people, especially visitors.
Due to non availability of Compress Natural Gas (CNG) which is much cheaper than petrol the citizens are forced to pay an extra sum of money to reach their destinations. Akram Ali, an office employee said, “I used to pay Rs 70 while going to office from Sector G-7/3 to G-7/1 but the same route now costs me Rs 100. Some of the drivers charge even higher than this.”. He was of strong view that meters should be installed to prevent taxi drivers from overcharging passesngers.
Another passenger Noreen said that females have to face a lot of problems while bargaining with taxi drivers. “They take advantage of the fact that we cannot stand for long intervals on the road and wait for another cab due to security reasons.”
On the other hand a taxi driver blamed the ever increasing petrol prices, non-availability of CNG and the increased cost of living for the hike in fares.