After facing incidents of misbehaviour by passengers, some of them even leading to police cases, a section of private online app cab operators have decided to fix cameras in their vehicles.
Yesterday, an online app cab operator in north Kolkata had to face the wrath of a woman passenger when the driver refused to take a different route than what the app showed. The woman commuter insisted on going to a location beyond the destination of the app and is even alleged to have threatened the driver.
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The matter worsened when the woman commuter went away without paying the amount and even complained to the local police at Narkeldanga, slapping charges of misbehaviour with the woman.
This, according to operators working under the Left-affiliated organization, was one of the several incidents that is said to have hounded the app cab drivers over the years. A similar incident took place in south Kolkata’s Jadavpur last week. According to the members of Kolkata Ola Uber App Cab Operators and Drivers Union (CITU), the incident become uglier and took a more intense shape with the women commuters. Drivers alleged that in many cases, the arguments are started by women passengers with unjustified demands and end in false claims, leading to police complaints.
“Considering several incidents, we have decided to instal cameras inside the vehicles,” said secretary of the organization, Mohammad Manu. “To begin with, the cameras would be installed in around 6000 cabs and later it would be extended to the other fleet as well. The process of installing the camera has started today and would continue in phases. This would help us maintain the records of the drivers and the commuters. The camera feeds would serve as crucial evidence in such situations,” added the secretary.
Asked who would maintain the data of the cameras, he informed, “For now, the organization would maintain the records. We are ready to hand it over to the police or the state transport department if they ask for it.”
