Rs 1,000 fine for app cabbies on phone behind the wheel

KOLKATA: At least five out of every 10 drivers fined for speaking on cellphones while at the wheel are app cabbies, claims Kolkata Police which has started a drive and has been slamming a fine of Rs 1,000.
Senior officers of traffic department met officials of Ola and Uber a week ago at Lalbazar and informed them that their drivers caught speaking on the phone while driving would face stiff prosecution.
The police drive comes in the wake of back-to-back accidents in the city where app cabs were involved in crashes, primarily due to the fault of the drivers. Across traffic guards, police have already started booking drivers for talking on mobile phones and not using seat belts. After Monday’s crash at Metropolitan crossing there has been a directive from the police headquarters to intensify the drive.

App cab drivers often call up passengers for directions despite the location being indicated in their GPS trackers. Some passengers, too, keep calling the drivers despite being able to locate the car’s position on their phones. “We cannot rein in the passengers who call up the drivers. But it is the driver’s responsibility to ignore calls during the ride,” said an officer at Lalbazar.
Cops had highlighted the issue and asked the app cab operators to train their drivers accordingly.
However, app cabbies said they were being unnecessarily harassed by cops. “There are some passengers who keep calling after their booking is initiated. If we don’t answer, they often cancel the booking,” said Vinod Singh, an Uber cab driver. An Ola cab driver said he finds the prosecution system confusing as the cops don’t allow app cabs to park anywhere other than specific pick-up and drop-off locations, but are now asking them to park their cars to take calls. “Our business is dependent on cellphones. The police order is not driver-friendly,” said Ajay Prasad, an Ola cabby.