|
Taxi drivers` association opposed to meter system
2008-07-01 10:45:29
By Ley Mlelwa, KIU
The Chairman of Tanzania Taxi Drivers` Association, Yacubu Rajab, has rejected the plan to introduce a new system, whereby taxi drivers would charge passengers per distance travelled.
The new system, which authorities are still working on before its inception, would see all commercial taxis operating in major towns and cities installed with a special meter for measuring the distance covered and charge passengers accordingly.
Rajab made the observation yesterday during an interview with `The Guardian` in Dar es Salaam.
He said the meter payment system would create more headache, rather than solutions to major transport problems facing the country.
He said taking into consideration traffic jams, poor condition of roads and soaring fuel prices, the system would not be pertinent to the country at the moment.
``Because of traffic jams, most of the time drivers are forced to take passengers through street roads, covering longer distances.
With the meter system then, passengers will be forced to pay more,`` he explained.
In a separate interview, a taxi driver, Mussa William, said almost 99 per cent of the income that taxi drivers get goes to the taxi owners and fuel, expressing worries that the meter system would affect them.
He explained that through bargaining system, there is a possibility for operators to get more because different customers had different income capacities.
The meter system would deny them a chance to get more money from passengers willing to pay more, through bargaining.
Another driver, Moses Iddrisa, also preferred the bargaining system to meter system, citing poor conditions of roads and traffic jams, which at times, force taxi drivers to divert to streets from highways and main roads, so that they could take passengers to intended destinations quickly and at affordable rates.
|
