A regular flyer, V K Krishnan, said it was particularly difficult to get a taxi at the airport, especially in the evening. "Also, fleet cab companies do not confirm bookings due to unavailability of vehicles," he said.
Taxi union leader A L Quadros admitted to the shortage of drivers and so, the dearth of cabs. "We have several hundred taxis lined up in areas like Sion-Chunabhatti. They are not used as there is no driver for them." There were over 45,000 about a decade ago, but the figure has dropped to 35,000. "Even owners who have taxi permits have been finding it difficult to get drivers," Quadros added.
One of the reasons for the dearth, Swabhiman Sanghathana union leader K K Tiwari said, was that several senior citizen drivers had retired but very few youngsters replaced them. "People are not willing to join the trade anymore. Earlier, taxi drivers' sons would usually follow in their fathers' footsteps but nowadays, they don't want to become cabbies. They pursue higher studies and look for other jobs," Tiwari said.
According to some drivers, the stringent government norms for issuing taxi badges is another reason for people not applying for it. "We need to have a domicile certificate, which is a proof that a person has been a Mumbai resident for 15 years, to get a badge. While locals are not keen on the profession, migrants cannot get a badge unless he has lived here for 15 years. So, it is difficult to get an authorized taxi driver," said a driver from Colaba.
Even fleet cab operators have been facing the same trouble, with 500 of their vehicles lying idle. "In fleet cab business, our drivers need to be well-mannered besides having sound knowledge of the local routes and language. Nowadays, we do not get enough applicants who want to be self-employed as fleet cab drivers," the source added. Transport expert Sunil Mone said the city needed 10,000 to 15,000 fleet cabs, when the present strength was just about 6,000.
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