Cabbie Khushi Cabbie Gham: Can Cab Drivers Afford Hefty Challans?

After the Motor Vehicle Act 2019 came into force, can cabbies afford the new fines?

Can Cab Drivers Afford Hefty Challan?

Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint

The Motor Vehicle Act 2019 has been up and running since 1 September 2019. The new Act, even before its implementation, created a lot of buzz amidst daily commuters, and car and bike owners. It equally impacted the private and commercial vehicles. The reason being the doubled, even tripled, challan amounts.

New Challan Rates 2019.

New Challan Rates 2019.

New Challan Rates 2019.

We have been tracking the whole challan episode quite closely. Here’s what the private vehicle owners had to say about the PUC paper registration process:

But someone’s voice was missing from the picture. Whose, you ask? Well, take a hint, It’s one of the emerging choices of transport for daily commuters in India. The cab. We decided to speak to the cabbies of the capital city/state and find out how they feel about it. Are they happy or sad about the price hike in challans?

Several state governments, like Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, have already turned down the offer to impose the new challan rates in their respective states, but Delhi continues to exercise the new Act and levy heavy challans from the private and commercial two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler owners.

So, can cabbies afford it? And, is the new Motor Vehicle Act 2019 actually helping more people follow the rules? Are people honestly paying challans or just taking the bribe route? Long story short, watch the video, hear out their experience so far and spread the word.

Pro tip: If you find any law enforcer (traffic police or simply police) violating any traffic rule, report it to the nearest authority and if found guilty, the enforcer will have to pay double the amount of penalty charged for the offence.