Cabbies often refuse a printout of the bill

Most taxi drivers are refusing to hand over printouts of the meter reading to passengers to ensure their tampered meters are not exposed.

Following complaints from passengers, the transport department had more than a year ago made it mandatory for every new taxi to be fitted with meter-printers in an attempt to prevent fudging of the reading. The printouts also help police track a taxi if needed.

“A transport department order on August 14, 2008, stated that all new taxis or those getting their permits renewed must have their meters fitted with printers,” said an official in the public vehicles department in Beltola.

Data with the department suggest that more than 4,000 taxis in the city have meter-printers but none seems to be handing over the reading slips to passengers.

“Key information like the distance covered, running fare, waiting fare and the contact number of the taxi owner is listed on the printout. So if the driver or owner of a taxi tries to cheat a passenger on any count, it would be reflected on the bill. The owner might lose his permit if his meter is found to have been fudged,” said the official.

The taxi association admits that the drivers are not handing over meter printouts to passengers but claim that commuters, too, do not insist on the bill. “Every passenger must demand a printout of the reading,” said Bimal Guha, of the Bengal Taxi Association.

The driver has to press a button on the meter to generate the printout. But passengers allege that most drivers turn down their request for bills on one pretext or another.

“I insist on the bill because the fare for the same distance fluctuates daily, but drivers either say they have run out of paper or the printer is not working,” said banker Sanjay Mukherjee, who commutes daily from Phoolbagan to Dalhousie.