It was hard to imagine a decade ago that cabs would become the most preferred type of public transport in well-planned cities of India. Times have changed and the prices have now become so affordable that almost every individual is able to afford them. At the same time, there is also a need to make this form of transport secure, especially for women travelers.
Safety in cabs
The ease of booking cabs online made them very convenient and easy for a large percentage of the population. Drivers were seen to be very cordial, but only in the initial phase of app-based cab drivers. The same women who first thought of cabs to be the safest modes of travel started to have doubts, and that’s where the need for extra safety arose. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents of drivers misbehaving with women, both verbally and physically. Such incidents have made it mandatory for many cab aggregators to take concrete steps against drivers.
Working women, who regularly encounter such cabbies have to face a number of problems which often lead to such cases. These problems include:
- Inadequate streetlights
- Lack of proper patrolling in many residential areas
- Lack of CCTV cameras
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How can safety be improved?
All cab aggregators must make sure that they enroll their drivers for soft skill training and verification programs. Background verification plays a major role in ensuring that drivers do not turn out to be criminals. In addition, measures such as the use of safety screens and 100% sanitizations during the current COVID-19 pandemic would be very useful. Those who complete the taxi booking online will feel safe that their vehicle is fitted with a live tracking GPS device.
Apart from the above, it would help if cab aggregators start regarding their staff as partners instead of drivers. It would empower the community to take empower their own community and also help build a strong tech ecosystem to make the commute pleasant for both themselves and the customers. In other words, they must be able to have a decent standard of living from this job. They should not have to work for extra-long hours, unlike what is being seen today; such situations are bound to create frustration.
Knowing the city well
Well trained drivers would know a city well before using a car as a cab. In the cab scenario most people have experienced so far, there are a large number of drivers who start driving as soon as they are in a new city. As a result, they are not aware of even the basic landmarks and one has to spend several minutes explaining to them. At the same time, most professional drivers will also not cancel your ride just because he knows the city too well.
Correct ETA’s
The reputed cab aggregators will make sure that their drivers move exactly as per what is denoted on the map. Many times, you will see cabs being just 3 minutes away but drivers taking more than 10 minutes to arrive. If you have to attend an important meeting, such an anomaly can really mess things up for you.
Poor vehicle condition
At present, you will come across many cabs which are in shoddy condition. A careful look on the outside will reveal the number of places such cars have been hit. You will find several cars to be not more than 2 years old but, will get the shock of your life when the drivers tell you they have driven them for 1 lakh plus kms. When drivers will work for normal hours, they will get time to get their vehicles repaired.
Do you find yourself often complaining about the deplorable conditions of the vehicles? This is your chance to find reputed cab aggregators with vehicles which have been properly maintained. You don’t want to go to the office thinking that your car could fall apart at any time, do you?
In addition to the above, drivers can be fined if they break any of the following rules:
- Overloading items in the goods carriage
- Driving over the speed limit
- Jumping a red light
- Using the mobile phone while driving
- Drunk driving
In any of the above cases, your cab driver’s driving license can be impounded for at least 3 months.
Avail outstation cabs
Have you travelled outstation in a cab before? If yes, you may want to do so again. Now if you have relocated to a new city, it may take some time before you find a suitable vendor for outstation cabs. Remember that not all those who can provide cabs for the city can do so for outstation trips as well. The cab aggregator you choose must not only have suitable cabs, but he must also have substantially experienced drivers.
