Most people who have come to
Trivandrum; especially those that live here, must be fed up with the unusual taxi fares in the city. Many have at least once argued with drivers over taxi fares. The government decides a rate, and the drivers decide another. If you cannot pay the driver's rate, you may look for another alternative. Since that alternative is not available, you are forced to pay them the rate they ask for. I once sought the help of a traffic police constable in such a situation and even he could not help me out. The policeman argued with drivers for about 15 minutes, and finally I gave up on it. All these years, people were forced to yield to their demand as there was no alternative. For example, for a distance of 8 kilometers in the city, the original rate (as decided by the state) comes to around Rs 120. But taxi drivers demand between 200 and 300.
But now, you have an alternative! I found this great service by
Celcabs. All you need is to dial 04712453553. They will ask about the trip details including date and time. You can enquire about the rates and get the exact figure by quoting the running kilometers. The taxi will come at the specified location to pick you up and the meter reading is counted between the two points of your journey. So, if you want to go to
Technopark from
Ulloor, and suppose the car comes from
Palayam, you don't need to pay for the journey from
Palayam to
Technopark. You have to pay only for the trip from
Ulloor to
Technopark. I think
that defines this useful service. Drivers do not demand anything more. Additionally, you will get
sms' from
Celcabs after vehicle booking and journey end. Vehicle and driver details are sent to you in the first
sms and your feedback is requested in the second. They also go to other locations, beyond the city limit, at special rates. So, the next time you want to hire a taxi, consider making use of this service which helps you not only to save your money, but also to avoid tough driver dealings.
Before this post ends, for the example of 8 kilometer journey that I quoted above,
Celcabs charges you only Rs 115!