Government makes installation of GPS devices mandatory in taxis, autos to improve passenger safety
Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had demanded that GPS device be made mandatory for taxis & autos in the state (Representational Image)
The Maharashtra Government on Friday said Global Positioning System (GPS) devices will be introduced in taxis and auto-rickshaws plying in the state for passengers’ safety.
Minister of State for Home Ranjeet Patil said in Legislative Assembly that GPS devices would be installed in these vehicles for passengers’ safety, on the lines of app-based cab service providers such as Ola and Uber.
With GPS, movement of the vehicle can be tracked. “The state government will create a separate system to monitor the GPS system installed in taxis,” Patil added.
Earlier, raising the issue of passenger safety, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil demanded that GPS device should be made mandatory for taxis and auto-rickshaws.
Several legislators raised the issue of plight of auto-rickshaw and taxi passengers in Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan Dombivli. In a recent case, an auto-rickshaw driver allegedly molested a woman passenger in Thane.
The minister, however, did not give a timeframe by when the GPS installation will become mandatory.
While issuing new permits, the state’s transport department also reportedly inserted a condition about installing GPS in taxis and autos in case it made them compulsory in the future.
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