Taxis in demand for long drives in city

Taxis in demand for long drives in city
Vijay Times

THE security and comfort offered by taxis are propelling its popularity among locals in the City . F acilities like tele-booking, a comfortable journey and features like connectivity with the control room that enhance security are making more and more Bangaloreans opt for cabs.

According to taxi operators in the Silicon V alley , the growing incidence of crime in the City has been making many localites opt for the services of the City taxis, which were earlier preferred by only IT professionals and those from the other states.

CRIMES AND LOCAL TRANSPORT

"During the past few months, we have been noticing this growing trend of more localites availing the services of taxis," said Francis I Alphonso, managing director , Spot City T axi services.

Commenting on the reasons for this trend, he said customers were particular about the security features and it was these that were making customers opt for cabs over other modes of transport.

"Earlier , only the migrants from other states opted for this as they would not know the City well. So , in an unknown City , they felt safe with our services. But now , with the kind of crime happening in the City , even localites no longer feel safe and confident here," he added.

Explaining about the safety and security features in taxi services, he said, "W e always keep tracking the location of the taxi from our control rooms. So , that ensures connectivity and makes the customer feel safe." Further , he said that the system was more accountable and because of this, people could get back those things that they had left behind in the taxis by mistake.

LONG DISTANCES AND SAFETY

Jeeva, manager , Jai City T axi, said, "Nowadays, more number of localites are opting for our services." Stating what he thought was the reason for this trend, he said, "Most of the places like airport or railway stations are generally at a distance from many localities and when people are travelling with luggage and money , they don’t want to take a risk. Even localites no longer feel safe here when they have to undertake long journeys." Several other City taxi operators reflected his opinion and explained that off late, this trend had evolved as a result of incidents of crime on the road.

CUSTOMERS CATCH

Guruprasad Shetty , a bank employee who has been residing in the City for more than 30 years, said : "Earlier , we used to take autos because City taxis were always considered expensive. But now , with such alarming incidents of crime in the City , taxis at least seem to be safer given the fact that it is always tracked from the control room. Moreover , for long distance routes, taxis ensure comfort and are relatively costeffective." V eena Sudarshan, a homemaker who has been residing in this City for generations, said, "Now , we opt for the taxis if the journey is a long distance one as through the tele-booking facility , we have our conveyance at our doorstep at the exact time . Moreover , taxis appear to be safe because they operate in a very organised manner ."