Taxi refusal is an everyday incident in Kolkata. The increasing taxi refusals have taken the passengers by awe, and the administration does nothing to correct this blunder. Most of the times, you will find the cops not ready to hear anything against the taxi drivers as their mouths are sealed with bribes. However, there are some honest traffic officers too who come to your rescue no matter what time it is. Since the new government has floated some strict measures to arm the passengers against the thick-skinned taxi drivers, you will at this moment know what to do and what not to if faced with a wicked one.
There are places depopulated by running taxis, and you have to walk up to the main road which is sometimes miles away to get hold of one, and you’re definitely in a problem if it is midnight. What we suggest you do is to seek a traffic controller’s help to catch you a taxi. The taxi drivers don’t usually don’t get into a verbal brawl with the traffic sergeants, so chances are they might ask you the rightful fare. There are 24/7 traffic control booths in almost every notable street in Kolkata, and seeking help from them might save you from something uncalled for.
Reckon on flying taxis at your own risk in North Kolkata in case of a hurry because there are taxi unions who make sure to draw their share of commission from the cabbie when you’re not hiring a taxi from the authorized taxi stand and the cabbie might ask you extra money from the meter eventually. Better still, if you drag yourself to the stand and get hold of a taxi from there, it will save you some time from not running about after the flying ones.
In the past, the government has gone the extra mile to crack a whip on the passengers’ inconveniences caused by the Kolkata taxi drivers, however, they introduce a batch of new taxis called the ‘no refusal’ taxis around the city which look slightly different from the regular ones as being blue and white in color. You can pretty much be sure that they won’t ask extra money. Neither will they dare you to call the cops, nor will they seem like they’re doing you a favor by driving you to your destination.
Since it is no brainer to put cabbies through a logical fight over a refusal, so what best you can do is to right away note down the taxi registration number and report that to a nearby police station. Kolkata Police, for that matter, has both Facebook and Twitter pages where you can lodge your complaints and those will be undoubtedly taken care of, they will even provide you a complaint registration number and the result of the action taken.
SOME IMPORTANT NUMBERS:
Kolkata Police helpline numbers: 8300-10000, 98308-11111, 9163360404, 9163360404, 9163360405, 9163360406,
2214-1457, 2250-5096, 2214-3644.
Website: kolkatatrafficpolice.gov.in
