The proposal for introduction of pre-paid taxi service at Cuttack railway station seems to have gained wings with the Railway authorities agreeing to fast-track infrastructure development for it.
The Railways has been entrusted with the responsibility of providing parking spaces and developing taxi bays at the entry and exit points of the railway station. Ticket counters for the prepaid service would also be set up with the support of the Railways. The issue was discussed with the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) in the High Court-appointed Traffic Management Committee meeting, chaired by Commissioner of Police Dr R P Sharma here.
The committee had proposed launch of the prepaid taxi service following the success of the prepaid auto rickshaw service at the Railway station. According to the assessment made by the committee, the service would start off with around 50 taxis in the initial phase.
The objective is to provide hassle-free transport service, both intra-city and outside, to the people.
A substantial chunk of the passengers, who alight at Cuttack station, are from neighbouring districts like Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Kendrapara and Jajpur. The taxi service would be highly beneficial for them as they face problems in arranging onward transportation to their destinations. Along with development of infrastructure, the committee will also get down to formulating the fare structure for the taxis. The fares would be decided by the Transport department officials in consultation with the committee.
The process will go underway soon. Though no immediate timeline has been fixed, the target is to launch the prepaid taxi service by the end of this year, sources said.