Mumbai: Domestic flyers landing at the Santa Cruz airport (T1) are upset over the Rs 40 ‘convenience charge’ they are being made to pay whenever they book a pre-paid kaali-peeli taxi.
A woman flyer, Meeta Gulati, who flew in from Delhi, told The Free Press Journal that she resides in Sanpada (Navi Mumbai) and booked a cab at the pre-paid counter. “I was asked to shell out Rs940, which I paid. Later, I realised that the receipt was only for Rs900. I went back to the counter and enquired about this anomaly. The person at the counter said Rs40 was being levied towards the so-called convenience charge, but had no explanation for not issuing the receipt for it. When I pressed for a refund, he meekly returned the amount.”
Ms Gulati said that most passengers are tired and want to reach home fast so they don’t want to waste time complaining about Rs40.
Mumbai Taximen’s Union say convenience fees goes to MIAL
However, a few passengers interviewed by this newspaper said they were given a separate receipt for Rs40. The receipts showed payment made to the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). It appears, though, that not all passengers were given receipts for the ‘convenience fee’ collected from them.
General secretary of the Mumbai Taximen’s Union, AL Quadros, said, “The convenience charge invoiced to the passengers is done by MIAL. If a passenger does not receive an invoice, he should complain to the authorities concerned.” He added that till three years ago, the pre-paid counter was being manned by their union. “But our staff was removed from there,” he added. He said when the union was manning the counter, it made sure that all the passengers were issued proper receipts.
A passenger from Goa, who booked a ride from the pre-paid counter said, “They have charged Rs40 on my taxi fare and have not provided a bill for it. They said that the additional charges are convenience charges. I did not argue or fight as I wanted to reach my destination in time.”
A woman at the counter insisted that proper receipts are issued to all passengers independent of the rush. Spokesperson for MIAL Priyanka Rajan said it was impossible that passengers are not being issued receipts for the ‘convenience fee’.
