Tough Being a Taxi Driver in Mumbai: CNG, Fines, Repairs Are Eating My Income

Last year, CNG was priced at Rs 47 and now we are paying Rs 76. The prices have skyrocketed.

Taxi drivers on Mumbai facing problems due to hike in CNG prices.

(Photo Courtesy: Altered by The Quint/Namita Chauhan)

Producer: Varsha Rani

Video Editor: Pawan Kumar

Countless ‘no-parking’ signs, hefty fines, and hike in CNG prices are causing huge problems for taxi drivers like me in Mumbai.

The biggest issue here is parking. We are continuously on-road and it becomes very difficult for us to park our taxis.

On most of our taxi stands, private cars are parked. Because of that, we have to park our taxis somewhere around it and then we get fined by the police.

A few days ago, I had parked my taxi at a place and the police came and fined me. I asked them to wait for 10 minutes because the passenger riding in my car was just returning from the ATM. But they still fined me for refusing orders and bad behaviour. You can even check in the camera that I had parked my taxi properly.

'Hike in CNG Prices but Our Meter Remains Same'

Last year, the CNG was priced at Rs 47 and now we are paying Rs 76. The prices have skyrocketed. There has been an almost 60 percent hike but our taxi meter, which was at Rs 25 a year ago, is still at Rs 25. There is inflation everywhere but our income remains the same.

Plus, the labour charge (the maintenance charge or the cost of any repair work) has also increased. The labour that took Rs 50 a year earlier, is now taking Rs 100 and those who took Rs 100 are now taking Rs 170. That has also affected our income.

If the passenger has to go somewhere that is really far, we refuse because of the increase in the CNG prices. We cannot afford to go that far because we have no passengers on our return journey.

The solution is that the police should at least let us wait while we get the passengers in the parking areas. Sometimes, we get stuck in traffic, and there is Rs 1.5 per minute waiting charge. Passengers also need to understand this.

These are some of my points and I want the government to pay attention to them.

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