Bilal Kanjal
Exorbitant fares charged by taxi drivers from the local residents of Islamabad and outsiders have become a routine in Islamabad as there is no check and balance in place and rent performas for these cabs roaming around the city are nowhere in sight.
Riaz, who came from Srinagar Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK) to visit Islamabad, told Pakistan Today that the taxi drivers did not have check meters in their vehicles and those having check meters keep them off or disconnected. ‘They don’t have rent performa available to them as well. So it’s quite difficult to identify the distance covered. So unwillingly we have to pay whatever they demand,’ he added.
Another citizen, Shahid Latif said that those people who did not have their own vehicles rely on hired taxies for different reasons like in case of rain, routes of the elites and other. ‘The taxi drivers charge rent from these innocent people according to their own wish. They try to get advantage by overcharging at maximum level from these helpless people,’ he said.
It also came under observation of Pakistan Today that the taxi drivers used gas cylinders as seats which are very dangerous for the passengers.
According to a citizen of Islamabad, Sahir Ali, who was in some emergency hired a taxi during the night. ‘The taxi driver charged Rs 1000 only for the distance from Zero Point to Faisal Mosque. I was taken aback when I asked the fare from the taxi driver,’ he said.
In a response of a question about check meters and rent performa, Islamabad Transport Authority Secretary Seyd Jawad Muzaffar said no company was ready to purchase such meters as they were expensive. ‘We are trying to introduce an app like many other online apps so that both the parties could know about the fare,’ he added.