Howrah Station
The oldest station matches the busiest in making life difficult for visitors
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| The long taxi queues at Howrah Station snap the patience of many passengers • Established: 1854 |
Fare game: At least half a dozen men surround a passenger even before he or she manages to catch a glimpse of Howrah bridge after stepping outside the station, all offering a ride into the city.
“The cabbies wanted Rs 300 to go to Mukundapur, almost double the actual fare,” said Mohit Agarwal, who took a train to Howrah from Dhanbad last week. He had to give in to the demand since he was in a hurry to reach the Bypass hospital where his father was admitted and the queue at the prepaid counter was long.
When Metro visited, taxi drivers wanted Rs 150 to take passengers to Esplanade (5km) and Rs 200 to Shyambazar (7km). According to the prepaid chart, the fares should be Rs 75 and Rs 95, respectively.
Parallel service: At any given time, there are hundreds of taxis around the station. “I can’t understand why the prepaid queue is so long when there are so many taxis,” said an engineering student visiting Calcutta for the first time.
If he looked closer he would have seen that many of the taxis were not picking up passengers from the queue. They headed straight to the warehouse next to the new terminal, where a parallel service operates at extortionate rates.
Two traders from Moradabad, who took the Himgiri Express to the city, paid through their nose for the convenience of getting a taxi easily. “Since we are new to Calcutta, we agreed to pay Rs 250 for a ride to Cossipore,” said one of them when Metro pointed out that the prepaid fare is Rs 115. The duo had to pay Rs 50 more as “parking charges” before boarding the taxi.
See no evil: Policemen deployed at the taxi stands seldom act against those flouting rules. When Metro asked a cop why taxis were picking up passengers who had not queued up, he replied: “The taxis are only dropping passengers off at the station.”
Sealdah Station
The busiest station in the city is a study in passenger inconvenience
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| There are few taxis to ferry passengers from Sealdah Station • Established: 1862 |
Rampant refusal: A long wait at the prepaid queue does not guarantee a taxi here. Drivers refuse passengers so often that many are left with no option but to approach touts.
“Taxi after taxi refused me but those manning the prepaid queue said nothing. I stood there until a taxi agreed to ferry me,” said Sudipto Basu, a Thakurpukur resident returning from Delhi.
Empty lots: The dearth of taxis is the other factor that nudges passengers towards touts.
Metro was outside the station when the New Delhi-Sealdah Duronto Express arrived about a fortnight back. Avishek Garg, one of the passengers, waited at the prepaid queue for over 15 minutes before running out of patience. “There are still a dozen people in front of me and each will have to wait at least a couple of minutes for a cab,” he said.
The moment Garg left the queue with his wife, a tout ran up to them. “Shyambazar? Rs 150,” he offered.
Help wanted: Policemen are seldom deployed at the taxi stand to help out passengers. Members of Trinamul-affiliated Progressive Taximen’s Union manage both the prepaid and metered taxi queue.
Airport
If Calcutta were like other cities, the airport would not have had the problems that beset the stations. But here thefts are the only addition to the familiar woes of long queues, dirty washrooms and dearth of transport
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| Taxis are the only transport option from the airport after 8pm • Operational from: 1924 |
Fly by day: The AC bus service at the airport stops at 8pm though many planes land after that.
“It is bizarre that the only transport option after 8pm is taxi. The AC buses are one of the few good things in the city’s transport system. The bus hours must be extended,” said Mudar Patherya, who lives off Southern Avenue.
The luxury taxi service too stops after 10pm. “In Hyderabad, you get luxury taxis even after midnight,” said a management student.
There is often a lone person attending customers at the other taxi booth inside the domestic terminal.
Theft threat: Every month, the airport authorities receive from fliers about five complaints of tampered baggage or theft.
Authorities said some areas, like the baggage segregation area, are not covered by security cameras. “Some Group D staff and employees of private agencies are involved in these incidents,” said an official at the airport.
Calcutta Station
The clean platforms hold out the promise of a pleasant experience. But by the time most passengers find transport, they promise themselves that they would never return to the station.
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| The prepaid taxi counter at Calcutta Station is still not operational • Established: 2006 |
Taxi trouble: The drivers encircle passengers as they emerge out of the station and shout out the rates — Rs 500 for Tollygunge (15km) and Rs 150 for Burrabazar (7km).
In the background is the prepaid taxi booth that never became operational. A prepaid fare chart at 2006 rates hangs near the structure. “Fares have gone up since then, so we charge what we feel like,” said a driver.
T.P. Singh, who took the Jammu-Tawi Express to the city from Bareily, said half a dozen cabbies refused to ferry him because he did not shell out the amount they wanted. After about 45 minutes, a taxi driver who was dropping someone at the station agreed to take him to his destination on meter.
No-go zones: One of the reasons taxi drivers can fleece passengers is that buses are not available to most parts of Calcutta, especially the northern ones, from the station, which is about 500m from the main road in a secluded part of Chitpur.
“One bus goes to Tollygunge, the rest to Sonarpur, Narendrapur or Garia. There are no buses to Sealdah or Howrah,” said the conductor of a bus. This, despite many long-distance trains operating from the station, including the Maitree Express to and from Dhaka.
Cops, what cops? With no policemen around, cabbies do not care if passengers complain against them.
Rahul Dutta, who arrived at the station from Murshidabad late at night about a fortnight ago, said: “After a cabbie dared me to complain anywhere, I called up the Calcutta police traffic control room. They told me that they could not do anything as the station premises were under the railway police’s control.”
Santragachhi Station
Santragachhi Station was meant to take the load off Howrah Station. It has only ended up replicating the problems of the bigger station and introducing some new ones.
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| Shuttle cars, and not taxis, are the first transport option available to passengers getting off trains at Santragachhi • Established: 1900 |
Steep climb: The station does not have a single ramp so passengers have to carry their luggage on the staircases.
“It is very difficult for the passengers, especially the elderly and women,” said Nirmalya Mukhopadhyay, a West Midnapore resident travelling with two aged relatives.
“Ramps are a basic necessity at any station where long-distance trains operate,” said a man in his 60s, carrying one bag in his right hand and the other on his left shoulder.
Wheels of fortune: Drivers of “shuttle” cars gather around passengers the moment they step off a platform. “We do not cross Vidyasagar Setu. We take passengers to destinations in Howrah and Hooghly,” said one of the drivers.
Metro asked a driver who was willing to go into the city the fare to Kasba. “Rs 450,” he demanded.
Taxis are not available here as the parking fee is Rs 25.
The metered taxi stand is about 70 metres from the station.
“All the taxis ask for at least Rs 20 extra,” said Saumik Ghosh, who has to often take trains to the station.
Blank call: Not a single policeman, state or railways, could be seen on the premises. When Metro visited last week, there were two policemen near the taxi stand.
A board put up by Howrah City police near the taxi stand urges passengers to lodge a complaint if they face taxi refusal, but no phone number is given.
