Cab and taxi drivers want parking spaces in Hyderabad

 HYDERABAD: Approximately 1.25 lakh cabs and taxis, which are either app-based or operated by tours and travels, are currently running in the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Incidentally, commuters prefer the more convenient apps for booking cab services in the city.

However, drivers rue that they are not provided amenities like parking spaces. Earlier the city had 170 parking areas for cabs but they are not able to cater to the increasing number of vehicles that are operating.

Members from the Telangana State Taxi and Drivers Joint Action Committee, who are trying to take this issue to the higher authorities, have urged the state road transport officials, GHMC and traffic police, to conduct a study to get a feel of the problems the drivers are facing, irrespective of the season. They are seeking parking lots every five kilometres, along with toilets and drinking water facilities.

They also want parking lots or waiting spots around commercial buildings, shopping malls and cinema halls from where customers book cabs. They rue that if they wait at any such places, traffic police personnel click pictures and penalise them heavily for “wrong parking”.