It remains a well known fact that the first site of hospitality that tourists taste whenever they go to a certain place is from the local cabbies.
Since after landing from an airport, railway station or bus station, it is the cabbies that they have to deal with at the first instance.
But taking into the behavior of the local cabbies in the city and the tourist taxis, perhaps it is high time that we have to learn a lesson or two from other cities of the country. Apart from regularized rates, proper treatment meted out to commuters is a lesson that needs to be learnt.
In Chennai, the auto-rickshaws treat their passengers like gods and if the passenger happens to be a tourist, they then take an extra care. Expecting such behaviour here is a far fetched cry.
First of all the journey from Shillong to Guwahati by a sumo maxi taxi or some other tourist vehicle is pathetic ever since it started. These taxis move from anywhere and everywhere in the city now after the eviction of these vehicles from the parking lot opposite SBI Main Branch. Although there was not any designated place for these vehicles, except the one that was done away with by the former DC, the process of getting such tourist taxi and traveling in it has its own share of pathetic complications.
A passenger said that he wonders whether our minister ever gave it a thought as to how passengers travel the 100km in such a situation.
But for these passengers the journey starts with a certain degree of unpleasantness and ends in agony. Then the ill mannered and rude touts who manages these vehicles, the ones that keeps shouting “Guwahati”, “Guwahati” unending throughout the day in Police Bazaar and elsewhere in the city, will dampen the spirit of the early morning zeal of a passenger since the touts only knows how to fight and argue.
One such tourist who had a brawl with one of these touts said that the beauty of Shillong does not match with the manners inculcated in these people at all.
This is a very serious statement and that too from a tourist who said that the drivers do not even has the basic manners and does not even care whether they are talking to a male or a female.
He is echoed by a resident of the city and said that the local/tourist taxi drivers/touts are the Romeos of the road here as they pay the police to shut them up and park their vehicle wherever they like. One such new example in this regard is the stretch from Barik to Civil Hospital junction where the sumo maxi taxis are seen parking their vehicles throughout the day in search of Guwahati bound passengers.
Then comes the menace called local cabbies of the city whose only motive is to loot and loot, whether it is a local resident or a tourist from outside. There is no rule or law as they charge anything under the sun.
The distance between Civil Junction to Laitumkhrah, for which a local resident would not pay more than Rs10, has rates of a whooping Rs300 for tourist whereas from the same junction to say Polo or Rynjah it varies from Rs400 to Rs500 without even faintly thinking that by doing this they are creating a negative image in the minds of the tourist about their city.
One may reach Guwahati spending half the amount that they cabbies are looting.
The less said about the cabbies running in the city routes, the better it is. These cabbies, who break the rule right from the sitting capacity to the ethics of the road and if anyone protests than the protester has to vacate the cabbie and not others. Absolute anarchy and chaos is the rule here with no law and enforcement.
Meanwhile, many tourists are of the opinion that the state government here should open up a pre-paid taxi service in Police Bazar area of the city for the convenience of the passengers.
“The government can put up a notice board with routes, distances and the rates to be charged for the knowledge and understanding of a tourist,” said this tourist.
Another such tourist from Maharashtra said that Shillong is thronged by thousands of tourists throughout the year and in order to prevent any hassle, the government can put up such transparent pre-paid services, as seen in other cities, for the convenience of both parties. He also said that government here can learn the system of local / inter-state transport in Pune and emulate it here.
This point of view is also echoed by residents in the city.
While informing that quarrelling over fare charged by a local cabbie is a common sight in the city, this resident said that since the parking lot opposite SBI Main Branch is now gone for some vested interest one area preferably in the front portion of the parking lot at Police Bazaar can be earmarked for such pre-paid service.
“There is no point is having this services in Polo or outskirt since the city’s main commercial hub is Police Bazaar and such pre-paid service are basically located near bus, train and tourist taxis station,” he said.
(By Rajib Roy)