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| Saturday, 17 July 2004 |
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Who let the hogs out? Trishaws were quite welcome when they appeared on our roads. They were quick, reasonably safe, could manoeuvre quickly through a mass of traffic, and considerably cheap to travel in. These factors were some which made it a big hit with the travelling public at a time when the public transport system was deteriorating and other avenues of transport were being explored to ease the traveller's plight during the early 1980s. But the gloss soon started wearing off the new chariots. by Ruwan Godage Many trishaws soon became a law unto themselves with no regard to life and limb. There were no rules or regulations other than the common traffic police and the highway code that they were bound to comply with but certainly no command was possible over the drivers of three-wheelers as regards hiring of passengers and their erratic fares. It is also a wonder how brazenly and openly they flout traffic laws continuously and get away with it. Dangers
While the breaking of road rules are as old as the presence of trishaws in Sri Lanka it is time to be cautioned on other aspects of potential public dangers from trishaws. It is reported easily over 200 trishaws are registered daily by the Motor Traffic Department. There have already been reports of thefts and harassment of passengers in trishaws particularly during festive seasons. This has still not fully blown into an alarming proportion, but the sooner it is nipped in the bud the safer. It is therefore imperative that stringent measures be enforced to counter this problem. Some solutions could be: * To have an indicator (which is visible both day and night) pointing out whether the trishaw is For hire or On hire. This will enable users to pick out which trishaw to travel in. * To have the driver's licence to operate as a taxi which should be issued by the Motor Traffic Department or any other appropriate local government regulator or establishment. This licence should be fixed in such a way to the trishaw with full view to the passenger and where the passenger can study it well. It should idally contain the driver's photograph, name, a number allocated and station or where his permanent starting point is. * To instal an electronic meter to gauge the distance travelled. Presently steps are firmly underway to develop a foolproof strategy for all trishaws to install meters. Some drivers are disgruntled and are raising concerns over who is importing the meters and what quality and standards should be maintained. In many countries the local authorities responsible for registration of motor vehicles ensure that taxi meters are sealed and the stipulated fare structure prominently displayed. Likewise the Department of Motor Traffic must consider fixing an official rate for taxis in addition to the above. But the official rate has to be enforced properly and heavy penalties clamped on defaulters. Also regular monthly checks are necessary to ensure that meters are not tampered with. These enable the passenger to avert being fleeced by the driver. It could be made compulsory that all these measures are met with and complied with by the drivers to have the trishaw on the road. Proper procedures should be followed when fitness certificates for trishaws are required by approved garages for the issue of revenue licences, etc. Many of the precautions above are currently being enforced in countries where taxis operate. In countries like Japan and Singapore, for instance the taxi drivers respect the law so much that one wonders whether they are terrified of it. Their penalty schemes are such that an offender once in the red is penalised in a way that he will remember it for a long long time. Closer Moving closer home, in India, it is reported that taxi drivers are a threat of charging exorbitant fares from gullible travellers irrespective of their nationality. The fare is usually agreed after much haggling, and for any foreign tourist in India trishaw travel could be a nightmare. (It is safer to offer a price less than half of what the taxi driver asks for). In countries like Japan taxi operations are highly controlled. There are turns for every taxi driver in queues. They must proceed forward and when he's at the top of the queue a passenger will get in. Looking into their operations, there are owners of trishaws who don't go on 'hire' by themselves, but assign it to a driver instead. This driver is required to pay the owner an agreed fixed sum usually ranging from Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per day. Therefore the driver has to first try to collect the sum due to the owner before he earns for himself. But it is not always that the driver faithfully hands over the owner's dues regularly. Their reason generally is that there were 'no adequate hires' on that day. The reasons for this could be attributed to the driver having to look after the fuelling and the heavy competition to find passengers/hires on the road. Since anybody is free to own (a new trishaw costs around Rs 210,000) and drive a trishaw in this country more and more people are attracted to this method of earning. And as there are no administering controls, or no legal authority primarily to overseas and safeguard the interests of the passengers of these vehicles there is a potential danger of such taxis and particularly trishaws. Years back it was the responsibility of the Motor Traffic Department. Motor Traffic Act The Motor Traffic Act No. 14 of 1956, Section 73 dealing with hiring car services states: '(1) No hiring car shall, on or after the appointed date, be used for the carriage of passengers for fee or reward at separate fares except under the authority of a state carriage permit for a regular hiring car service granted by the Commissioner under this part and for the time being in force.' However this Section of the Act has been revoked together with many other Sections by the Amendment to Motor Traffic Act upto March 31, 1981. Private cars are also classified as motor cars under this Act. Now any person who owns a roadworthy vehicle can register it with the Motor Traffic Department and transport passengers for a fee. Safety It is important here that due consideration is given to the total safety of passengers whilst travelling. His freedom of choice in selecting which trishaw to travel in should also be ensured. The second factor may not be feasible in the case of travelling in a taxi which has been called for by telephone; for instance. Another danger to the passengers and other road users is the notorious recklessness in handling the trishaw by its driver. Since there is only one wheel at the front the driver is easily prone to turn the wheel, often without signalling sometimes even unnecessarily, since it is like riding a two wheeler. The driver could also misjudge the exact width of the trishaw particularly because it is angular at the front. But these factors cannot be taken as excuses for reckless driving. It is imperative that road rules are heavily drummed into the driver's mind and constant checks maintained on their performance if we are to reduce the increasing number of road hogs in Sri Lanka. |
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