Day 2: Maxi-cabs remain off road

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 8

Maxi cabs remained off road for the second day today while, Uttarakhand Transport Corporation Undertaking buses plied jam-packed. However, a large number of passengers could not reach their respective destinations in the absence of adequate number of buses.

Dinesh Raturi, an office-bearer of the Doon Garhwal Tracker Jeep Commander Maalik Kalyan Sanchalan Samiti, said Maxi-cab operators would continue the agitation till the state government fulfilled their pending demands.

The union leaders demanded that Section 71 of the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicle Act 2011, which mandates Maxi-cab operators to submit logbooks having passenger details, including name, address, and telephone numbers, and boarding time and destination of passenger.

They said the state government had made compulsory submission of logbooks with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) on a quarterly basis. Failure to comply with the order would result in cancellation of commercial licences of Maxi-cab operators.

The union leaders, who run taxis on contract carriage permits, demanded scrapping of the rule as it was not feasible for them to maintain logbooks. They also resented the new rule under which a Maxi-cab owner could only operate his vehicle for only nine years and his permit would not be renewed thereafter.