Transport Commissioner, Shyamsunder Shinde said, “The transport department will soon start phasing out unfit autorickshaws and taxis from the city.
The old vehicles also cause pollution levels to rise.”
According to him, vehicles which fail to pass the fitness tests will not be allowed to ply on city streets. “The over condition of the autorickshaws and taxis would be seen assessed before being phased out,” he added. Currently, there are 53,000 taxis and over one lakh autos in the city. As part of the campaign, 250 vehicles will be phased out daily once the drive begins.
The department also plans to step up its road checks and vigilance drives under this campaign. “Flying squads too will keep an eye on such vehicles, which will then be referred to the regional transport office for the more elaborate tests,” Shinde informed.
As expected, the autorickshaw and taxi unions have reacted strongly the decision, announced by Principal Secretary (Transport) Ramanath Jha on Wednesday. While a court order fixes the lifespan of non-CNG heavy vehicles at 15 years, there is no pre cise cap on how many years a non-CNG taxi can operate.
A L Quadros, general secretary of the Mumbai Taximen’s Union, threatened to go on strike if the government con tinues with the campaign. According to him, there is no provision under the Motor Vehicle Act under which a permit can be cancelled for not passing a fitness test. “There is no provision in MV Act. We will have talks with the (transport) department and if government continues we will go on a week’s strike,” Quadros said.
Others insisted the move was a consipracy by the state government to promote the Fleet Taxi Scheme’ involving private operators.
Meanwhile, the city’s auto union’s general secretary, Sharad Rao, echoed Quadros’s thoughts. “It is funny what the government is coming up with. How can they decide to phase out a fixed number of vehicles before even looking for them?”