Darjeeling, June 13: The Darjeeling
district administration has decided to issue permits for meter taxis in
Siliguri, which is the biggest towns in north Bengal.
Siliguri does not
have meter taxis at present and public transport is largely confined to
shared autorickshaws, mini buses and a local train.
Puneet Yadav, the
district magistrate of Darjeeling, said: “We have decided to issue
permits to 1,000 meter taxis in Siliguri. They will be fitted with a GPS
system. There will be facilities for printed receipts and the taxis
will have ‘no refusal signs’. The taxi colour will be two blue stripes
on a white base.”
The district
administration said it would be issuing a public notice within the next
one week. “Once the notice is issued, we will give time to the
applicants. We are hopeful that the taxis will roll out by September,
just before the Pujas,” said Yadav.
The taxis will
have to be fitted with not less than a 1150 cc engine. The
administration has not prescribed any car brand for the taxi. Asked if
the current transporters and mainly the auto owners had raised any
objection to taxi’s, Yadav said: “Till now there have not been any
written complaints.”
The meter taxis
will only be introduced in the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri development area as
of now. “If anyone raises the issue (for introduction in the hills) then
we will forward their concerns to the state government,” said Yadav.
The administration is expected to work out other modalities like parking space for meter taxis soon.(TT)