E-taxis in Chennai to enhance safety of passengers

Chennai: Union tourism ministry’s proposal to introduce electronic or e-chip enabled taxis at  airports for enhanced safety of domestic and international tourists is a welcome move but it’s better to sensitise cabbies on being more civil with the visiting guests, say experts.

Flexing technology to monitor the movement of cabs is an ideal thing and this may work well in the case of certain states where violence against tourists is rather high, tourism experts say.

After assuming charge on November 12, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union minister of state for tourism & culture and civil aviation, announced to introduce e-chip card facility at all airports in three months.

Tourists upon their arrival at airports will be given a card of the taxi allotted to him/her and this chip added card contains all particulars about the driver, route he takes to ferry the passenger and the destination where he drops the passenger.

This will maintain a record of  roads through which the tourist taxi passes and the destination where the passenger disembarks.

In Chennai airport and suburbs for instance, about 2,000 taxis are operated on a regular basis. Chennai Airport Prepaid Taxi Owners-Drivers Association, Fast Track Pvt. Ltd and Aviation Express are the three taxi services functioning from the airport here.

Though not a single complaint of harassment or violence has been registered at the Chennai airport, the exorbitant fares charged by  cabbies is a persist problem for many passengers.

“We have not received any communication,” says Mr Bhakthavatsalam, joint director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC).

The TTDC has been attaching utmost importance to safety of tourists and the corporation has not received any complaints so far, he added.