Coming up: Pre-paid taxi service at airport

If the plan materialises, the taxi booth will have a Commissionerate Police logo and at least one police personnel will be deployed there, said Mohanty.

BHUBANESWAR:In a bid to check harassment of flyers at the hands of rogue cab drivers, the Commissionerate Police and Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) will set up a pre-paid taxi booth soon. Commissioner of Police Satyajit Mohanty said, “A meeting will be held with airport officials next week to discuss the pre-paid taxi counter at BPIA.”

If the plan materialises, the taxi booth will have a Commissionerate Police logo and at least one police personnel will be deployed there, said Mohanty. The pre-paid taxi booth will give a sense of security to flyers as its operations will be directly monitored by the Commissionerate Police.While private cabs operating at the airport have gained notoriety for fleecing flyers, there have been several instances of drivers misbehaving with passengers.

Currently, an online transport company’s booth is operational inside the airport. BPIA sources said an unauthorised taxi service is also operating outside Terminal 1.In 2015, the State Transport Department and Commissionerate Police had rolled out pre-paid auto-rickshaw service at the railway station, Baramunda bus stand and KIIT University.

Mohanty informed that the cops will soon hold a meeting with auto-rickshaw unions and cab drivers to discuss issues like reckless driving and illegal parking. The Commissionerate Police will also review its flagship project Pink Auto service which was launched in 2014 but failed to serve the purpose due to official apathy.

While the Commissionerate Police did not review the service periodically, the identity cards of Pink Auto drivers were not renewed even several months after expiry.Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials said over 30,000 auto-rickshaws are registered in the Capital. “While about 10,000 to 15,000 autos are operating inside the City, the rest are plying in the suburbs,” the officials said.

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