The Taxi Drivers of GT Road

 The Taxi Drivers of GT Road

Dinesh K Kapila

The Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) is one of Asia's great historical roads and a major route connecting Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It is a 2,400 km (1,500 mi) stretch from Teknaf in southeast Bangladesh, across parts of India and Pakistan, to Kabul in Afghanistan. Though some say it ends at Peshawar. For me the GT Road is now from Amritsar to Kolkata. The GT Road that I am now talking about is the Road from Amritsar to Delhi, and Chandigarh connecting with the GT Road at Ambala, a forty five kilometres drive.

You can travel by train, take a flight, or a bus, drive down or hire a taxi. I normally prefer a good comfortable taxi for a trip which involves returning the same day or night. Then the concern is about the driver nodding off or losing focus, then the only way out is to chat. Discuss anything but keep him awake.

One gets to know so much about their lives and it’s a tough life. Very tough. Be it the taxi drivers who drop off passengers from Chandigarh to Delhi airport and then ferry back passengers from the airport to Chandigarh. And then back to Delhi airport. The cycle they say is endless and gets on their nerves and affects their health. Many take to varied options to stay awake, all carry an adverse impact but they have to earn a living. The owners sit at Chandigarh or Ludhiana or Jalandhar and work the phones and keep a close eye on their movements and the time taken to reach the Airport. As one driver said, we are but a machine for them. No leave, sometimes not even for festivals or lose the salary for that day.

Then there are those who drive for established travel companies and have the better quality vehicles, uniforms and drivers. Listen carefully, the story is the same with few exceptions. Drivers driving back passengers to Chandigarh from Jind and reaching at say 10 pm may be advised to pick up a family for an outing to Manali at 5 am the next morning. They say we learn to cope and to cope up the first to accept is our reality and that there I no escape from it. The only option is to drive trucks or mini trucks and that is way tougher, specially as it involves corrupt government officials and their harassment, owners insisting on carrying heavy loads beyond permitted limits and dirty bathrooms and sleeping facilities enroute most of India.

Taxes worry them. At Delhi, even if you enter the MCD area in a taxi for a short while, the guys stationed to collect the entry tax can be aggressive and in case their phones do not record the taxi number then a Rs 200/- currency note is necessary ! And the huge traffic jams it often causes is par for the course. Owners often tend to question the drivers if they really had to pay a bribe and at times do not reimburse the full amount. That pains the poorly paid drivers.

Times are changing tough. I was very happy to hear that some multi national companies, many known names, which sign contracts with companies having a fleet of good quality taxis insist on training and even refresher training for taxi drivers and many insist on no driving beyond 7 pm or 8 pm. The training is not on protocol as such but on the technicalities and compliances and safety aspects and some companies have even organised entry and exit tests. This is indeed welcome and the drivers say it makes them feel as valued human beings and the tea and cookies served at the training in a good environment motivates them. I can only wish that more such companies are there, in any case the MNCs have again shown the way to observe ethical and legal aspects even in hiring taxis.

It’s very interesting to know why the taxi drivers value the GR road, specially and mainly on the Ambala to Sonepat section. That is the way they wish other routes were having a similar flavour and facilities. Many Dhabas - wayside eateries - long evolved into major food hubs and suitably air conditioned, extend facilities such as air conditioned rooms where the drivers can put their legs up, chill a bit and eat food. The food is buffet type at some eateries, the dining area for drivers has the food, always vegetarian though a couple of exceptions are there, laid out and it can be repetitive but is hygienic, well cooked and there are no restrictions on eating. Others allow drivers to order four to five items including the rotis, rice, dal, paneer etc or vegetables. This is the preferred way as it adds variety.

You have to simply provide your taxi number and the guards discreetly check if the taxi is certainly parked there. That implies passengers are eating at their premises.

One famous Dhabha - its grown into a huge premium set up, feels so indebted to taxi drivers as they patronised it in its fledging days that some taxi drivers are allowed to let their relations travelling with them to eat food for free and to rest in the air conditioned rooms. Another such establishment has beds, they also feel they owe their success to the patronage of taxi drivers, and allow them to sleep it off it they are needing the sleep. The beds are neat and clean and the rooms are air conditioned. And importantly, the bathrooms - ok washrooms - are now upgraded nearly uniformly all along this route and this is a boon for the tired taxi drivers. It helps them immensely is the refrain.

One driver took offence when his Creta car was not accepted as a taxi and the guards insisting on seeing the papers, otherwise he said it’s smooth sailing. Only two establishments offer cash in addition to the food and rest area, Rs 80 /- to Rs 125/- as I understood.

There is another interesting aspect too. From Jalandhar to Delhi a few establishments have opened a register, when the driver stops there, he enters his identity, the taxi number and the number of passengers. Incentives follow as per the number of such halts, only in kind, could be pressure cookers to flasks to even small LED TVs or smartphones, it normally kicks in as an eligibility after ten halts. Haryana is strict, there is no unethical incentive, very Indirectly and discreetly, it’s sort of conveyed that in the Punjab part some establishments do pass on some small quantity of what Punjab is now famous (infamous) for.

The Haryana Traffic wing is rated highly by all taxi drivers, Punjab as they say needs a huge wake up call. Just on the Ambala Chandigarh route, there is a patch where trucks cause a delay every night but the drivers say you hardly see the traffic police make a concerted effort to regularise it.

Most drivers dream of one thing, legally enforceable driving hours and limits. And day offs though they acknowledge that of late a few fleet owners do allow one day off in a week. The ardent desire and hope is for a legally driven working or rather driving hours limit. It should not be more than ten hours t a stretch and then a rest period should be a must. That I doubt will happen soon but it’s certainly a valid and socially desirable practice.

Another dream is hostels for drivers and the like or dormitories, or star hotels having such arrangements near by. The alternative, sleeping in the taxi and requesting the hotel to allow the use of the Washroom is very tough and impacts their driving. This is their real sincere feeling, a bed to just sleep the night.

By the way when we visited Madurai and Puducherry, the drivers nearly had the same stories and one driver had driven trucks across India and then gave up. He said to me, why do policemen in Punjab have to be so rough and aggressive, he said I told my owner send me anywhere but there !

These drivers have their own personal lives, marriages, families, commitments and problems. They find it tough to cope up. Many come from other cities and find it hugely problematic to stay in touch with their loved ones. Plus their rent itself eats away their salary. Many have friends - fellow drivers - help out with cooking food - when they return to their rooms. Think of them when you engage them.

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