LUCKNOW: Till now, to hail a radio taxi one had to ensure that it was booked well in advance. Even then, there were cases of people waiting at the airport or railway station without any assurance that the driver would turn up. This problem may however be over soon with the Uttar Pradesh transport department planning to set up permanent radio taxi stands in the near future.
"Both the city's airport as well as the railway station will be equipped with permanent modern radio taxi stands," said deputy commissioner, transport department, Lucknow zone, Gangaphal. "The decision has been taken by the transport department to ease out inconvenience caused to passengers travelling to and fro Lucknow and to ensure the security of the public at large," he added.
He also informed that on May 19, a meeting is scheduled wherein senior transport officers of UP would be present to decide the hike in number of radio taxis required in this context.
"Looking at the increasing demand, the city needs not less than 500 radio taxis and it is therefore essential that more and more private operators come up with their proposals as we promise to extend them maximum support," said Gangaphal.
Regional transport officer Jai Shankar Tiwari said, "The demand for radio cabs is slowly picking up. In fact, we can now see a shortage during arrival/departure of VIP trains like Shatabdi Express and Lucknow Mail," he added.