Kathmandu, March 1
More than 90 per cent of taxis operating in the Kathmandu Valley are not running on meter, the Department of Transport Management found in course of monitoring on Tuesday.
Taxi drivers refuse to turn on meters and charge passengers accordingly, pointing that they have to buy petrol in the black market at exorbitant rates, though they get oil easily from fuel stations at normal rates, according to the department.
Basant Adhikari, director of the department, who coordinated the monitoring work, said cabbies are fleecing passengers. They are charging up to four times the normal rates.
The department conducted monitoring in the wake of widespread complaints from passengers.
“In course of monitoring, we found that passengers had no option but to pay exorbitant rates as cabbies refused to trun on the meter,” Adhikari said. “In particular, we found taxi drivers fleecing passengers bound for hospitals and airport,” he noted. On Tuesday, the department seized documents of 10 taxis that had refused to turn on meters. Adhikari said the department will collect up to Rs 5,000 from each taxi as fine.
The team handed over a cabbie to police after he isbehaved the monitoring team. The department said it will continue monitoring taxis.
“Together with the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, we will launch a campaign against taxi drivers involved in cheating passengers,” Adhikari said. “We will take action against cabbies, who refuse to turn on the meter pointing they have to buy oil from the black market as this claim is untrue.”
