Route permits: Crackdown on cabs leads to artificial shortage
Taxis drivers from other cities often ply their vehicles in Islamabad without valid permits.
Taxis drivers from other cities often ply their vehicles in Islamabad without valid permits. PHOTO: FILE.
ISLAMABAD:
Taxi drivers in the twin cities are often aggressive, but a recent crackdown by the capital’s traffic police has given them good reason to be fearful.
The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) is cracking down on taxis in the federal capital that only have a Rawalpindi permit or were manufactured earlier than 2003.
The fines are validated by long-standing regulations of the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), but their implementation by the ITP has resulted in problems for passengers.
“Rawalpindi taxi drivers have been avoiding travelling to Islamabad for the last couple of weeks,” said Rameez Khan, a call centre employee who commutes between the twin cities every weekday.
The reluctance is because most taxi drivers in Rawalpindi and a sizable number in Islamabad do not have permits to operate in the capital. Taxis and public transport vehicles need a route permit from the city or district administration in which they operate. ITA, which falls under the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, issues the route permits for the federal capital. A three-year permit costs Rs1,000.
Most taxi drivers have a Rawalpindi Transport Authority permit because, according to the drivers, it is easier to obtain.
Khan, who said he only hails a taxi when there is a public transport crisis during the CNG holidays, said he had to give assurances to taxi drivers from Rawalpindi to drive him to the federal capital. “In one instance, a taxi driver only agreed after I told him I had not witnessed a fine being issued to a Rawalpindi driver,” he said.
However, enough taxi drivers have been fined by the ITP for word to spread through the cabbie community. “The police issue fines if we don’t have a stamp for Islamabad, as if the price of petrol was not high enough to wreck our business,” said Raja Ikhlaq, a taxi driver in Chaklala Scheme III.
The drivers might be unhappy but the fines are justified, according to Asmatullah Junejo, the acting senior superintendent of police (SSP) of the ITP. “The route permits are a source of revenue for ICT.” Junejo, who was recently posted to Islamabad, has spearheaded a campaign against transporters violating van routes, motorists defying the seat-belt requirement and taxis operating without permits. The ITP has issued around 1,000 fines in the past month.
The acting SSP said taxi drivers from Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Rawalpindi ply their vehicles in Islamabad without a permit because they think the capital is more lucrative, but in turn deprive the ICT of revenue. The increase in fines is not due to a year-end performance review for the police as insinuated by some taxi drivers, he added.
Taxi drivers think it is unfair that given the high daily volume of intercity traffic, taxis should be made to get two permits.
“Every commercial vehicle is issued a route permit for a specific jurisdiction,” said Gul Sher, a spokesperson of the ITA.
Another reason for taxi drivers’ reluctance is that ITA only renews permits for vehicles that are not older than 10 years.
Junejo said he advocates an even stricter restriction for route renewal, five years or less, because older cars cause more pollution and spoil the impression of the federal capital.
Taxi drivers suggest a car’s fitness certificate should be valued over its model. But corruption inherent in the system makes the fitness certificate an ineffective criterion, Sher said.
“Anyone with a few connections can get a fitness certificate, but there is no way to double-check it,” Sher said. “It’s better to have a year-based rule or to base the assessment on a car’s condition.”
Meanwhile, passengers will have to keep giving assurances as law enforcement officials and law breakers play cat and mouse.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2013.
Taxi drivers in the twin cities are often aggressive, but a recent crackdown by the capital’s traffic police has given them good reason to be fearful.
The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) is cracking down on taxis in the federal capital that only have a Rawalpindi permit or were manufactured earlier than 2003.
The fines are validated by long-standing regulations of the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), but their implementation by the ITP has resulted in problems for passengers.
“Rawalpindi taxi drivers have been avoiding travelling to Islamabad for the last couple of weeks,” said Rameez Khan, a call centre employee who commutes between the twin cities every weekday.
The reluctance is because most taxi drivers in Rawalpindi and a sizable number in Islamabad do not have permits to operate in the capital. Taxis and public transport vehicles need a route permit from the city or district administration in which they operate. ITA, which falls under the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, issues the route permits for the federal capital. A three-year permit costs Rs1,000.
Most taxi drivers have a Rawalpindi Transport Authority permit because, according to the drivers, it is easier to obtain.
Khan, who said he only hails a taxi when there is a public transport crisis during the CNG holidays, said he had to give assurances to taxi drivers from Rawalpindi to drive him to the federal capital. “In one instance, a taxi driver only agreed after I told him I had not witnessed a fine being issued to a Rawalpindi driver,” he said.
However, enough taxi drivers have been fined by the ITP for word to spread through the cabbie community. “The police issue fines if we don’t have a stamp for Islamabad, as if the price of petrol was not high enough to wreck our business,” said Raja Ikhlaq, a taxi driver in Chaklala Scheme III.
The drivers might be unhappy but the fines are justified, according to Asmatullah Junejo, the acting senior superintendent of police (SSP) of the ITP. “The route permits are a source of revenue for ICT.” Junejo, who was recently posted to Islamabad, has spearheaded a campaign against transporters violating van routes, motorists defying the seat-belt requirement and taxis operating without permits. The ITP has issued around 1,000 fines in the past month.
The acting SSP said taxi drivers from Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Rawalpindi ply their vehicles in Islamabad without a permit because they think the capital is more lucrative, but in turn deprive the ICT of revenue. The increase in fines is not due to a year-end performance review for the police as insinuated by some taxi drivers, he added.
Taxi drivers think it is unfair that given the high daily volume of intercity traffic, taxis should be made to get two permits.
“Every commercial vehicle is issued a route permit for a specific jurisdiction,” said Gul Sher, a spokesperson of the ITA.
Another reason for taxi drivers’ reluctance is that ITA only renews permits for vehicles that are not older than 10 years.
Junejo said he advocates an even stricter restriction for route renewal, five years or less, because older cars cause more pollution and spoil the impression of the federal capital.
Taxi drivers suggest a car’s fitness certificate should be valued over its model. But corruption inherent in the system makes the fitness certificate an ineffective criterion, Sher said.
“Anyone with a few connections can get a fitness certificate, but there is no way to double-check it,” Sher said. “It’s better to have a year-based rule or to base the assessment on a car’s condition.”
Meanwhile, passengers will have to keep giving assurances as law enforcement officials and law breakers play cat and mouse.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2013.