Taxi drivers at the Swami Vivekananda Airport here are burning a hole in the pockets of arriving passengers as they are allegedly charging them more than the prescribed rates.
Around 40 taxis are available at the airport to ferry passengers.As per the fare tariff on display at the airport, a passenger is required to pay Rs 300 for 10 km for a non air-conditioned taxi, while for air-conditioned taxi the fare is Rs 350 for the same distance. Moreover, if two passengers book a taxi for common destination, the fare doubles.
“Sometimes, we charge more than the rates displayed on the board. We too have the right to make profit when we can,” Kamlesh Tripathi, a taxi driver who operates from the airport, claimed.
Admitting that the taxi drivers at Raipur airport sometimes overcharge the passengers, Airport Director Anil Kumar Rai said that even in Delhi the taxi drivers from the airport charge Rs 300 for a distance of 15 km.
Though it is not part of our job to regularise the fare, we take action against the taxi drivers if they charge the passengers more than the displayed rates, said Rai and they have received a few complaints in the past regarding the high taxi fares.
“Not all taxi drivers operating from the airport have proper registration with the RTO. We have expressed our concern in this regard with the RTO and it is our hoped that when we float the tenders next time, only registered taxi drivers are permitted to provide their services. This will solve the problem of overcharging,” said Rai.
“The taxi drivers cannot increase the fare as the number of passengers rise. They did not even inform the Airports Authority of India (AAI) before putting this clause,” he said, adding, that a notice would soon be sent to the owners of taxi drivers for not keeping the AAI in the loop regarding higher fares.