ISLAMABAD: The public’s response to recently launched ridesharing apps has caused chaos among traditional taxi drivers, who see their future at risk.

Taxi drivers from the twin cities recently protested against their app-based competitors, and have announced plans to extend their protest to the coming week to compel the authorities to address their concerns.

There are over 10,000 registered taxis in Rawalpindi and Islamabad that have served the public over the years, but they have rapidly lost their market to popular app-based taxi services.

Munsaf, a representative of a taxi drivers’ association, said he was confident the matter would be resolved, as assured by the concerned authorities, in the running week.

Otherwise, he said, they would demonstrate in the coming week and hold sit-ins.

According to the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), there are some genuine and legal loopholes to bring these online services into the systematic official network.

ITA Secretary Jawad Muzafar said that after many rounds of consultations with taxi drivers and ridesharing services, the ITA had made some recommendations to streamline matters.

He said a checklist to cover legal and technical loopholes to bring online services into the mainstream was shared with the concerned departments for consultation.

Those recommendations, he said, include fitness certificates issued to private cars working for online services by the ITA’s motor vehicle examiner.

He said such facilities should also be made to ensure they possess route permits, and app-based services would be forced to display customised stickers on the front and back screens of their vehicles.

“We would issue a fare list to app-based services, which they have to follow,” he said, adding that passengers’ insurance would also be compulsory for their safety.

Mr Muzafar said the ITA had also received a proposal from the excise and taxation director to convert the status of app-based services’ vehicles from private to commercial.

Online taxi services have caused rifts and debates around the world regarding their legality and impact on the livelihood of traditional taxi drivers, but they have been very successful.

A user of one such service, Ijaz Anwar, who lives in Rawalpindi and works for a government organisation in Islamabad, said that when he uses these services he feels like he is “enjoying my own chauffeur-driven car”.

Awais Khan, a driver at the app-based taxi service Careem, said: “People are using our services because of cheap fares and quality facilities offered by our company.”

He said traditional taxi drivers were trying to create hurdles. He instead suggested they adopt new techniques to remain in the market.

A yellow cab driver, Raja Basharat, however, said they had paid heavy taxes over the years and demanded other services be dealt with the same way in order to create a competitive environment.

He said there was no comparison between licensed taxis and app-based vehicles, as the former faced four kinds of taxes.

Mr Basharat admitted that they were losing ground and app-based taxi services had badly affected their daily earnings.

However, university professor Ramzan said that even if the ITA succeeds in bringing app-based services into its clutches, public concern about exploitation by yellow and black taxis would still be unresolved.

He said they must be allowed to earn their livelihood, but certain rules and ethics should also be enforced.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017