Kathmandu, May 12
Amid complaints that taxi drivers in the Kathmandu Valley are fleecing passengers with impunity, Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has launched a special campaign against them. It has mobilised police personnel in civvies in several places to protect passengers from fleecing cabbies.
Naya Buspark in Kathmandu is one such place where one can find victims of the unscrupulous cabbies.
On Tuesday, police officers in civvies hailed a taxi numbered Ba 2 Ja 1295 and requested him to take them to the Tribhuvan International Airport by turning on the meter. On his part, the taxi driver said he will take them to the airport if they pay him Rs 300, refusing to turn on the meter.
After bargaining for some time, they revealed their true identity and took the taxi and the driver under control. The cabbie, according to officers, offered to them thousands of rupees in bribe. Now, the driver is behind bars for trying to bribe police.
The same day, the driver of the taxi numbered Ba 2 Ja also faced similar action. In this case also, police personnel in civvies identified themselves as members of the public and asked the driver to take them to Thapathali from Bus Park by turning on the meter. But the driver refused to take them to Thapathali by turning on the meter and demanded Rs 400 instead. As this fellow also tried to evade police action by offering bribe to the officers, he landed behind bars.
On an average day, police personnel in civvies, deployed from the MTPD, are taking action against a dozen-odd cabbies these days. On Tuesday alone, 19 taxi drivers faced action for tempering with meters, for refusing to take passengers to their destination by turning on the meter, collecting exorbitant fares. While on Sunday and Monday, 14 taxi drivers faced action.
MTPD records show 2,021 taxis faced action last year (2072 BS) for flouting rules. They reveal that cabbies cheat passengers at places like hospitals, airports and bus stations.
As per the rules, flag-down charge for taxis is Rs 14. For every 200 metres travelled after that, passengers have to pay Rs 7.40. The charges are different for green-plate taxis operating from the airport. For five kilometres travelled, these taxis charge up to Rs 600.
After that, they can charge Rs 73/kilometre. But this rule applies in areas that lie up to two kilometres inside Ring Road.
