Inadvertent Dilution of the ‘No Refusal’ Cab Campaign in Kolkata
The second issue is the oft-cited refusal of the city’s yellow cabs to visit certain destinations and areas. The anecdotal reason as given by the cabbies is that certain zones are simply not profitable enough as drop-off points for them, due to the lack of return passengers from those areas. The cabbies argue that they would therefore have to return to more bustling parts of the city if they wanted to pick up passengers, incurring the loss of driving that distance in the process.
In order to tackle part of the problem, the government of West Bengal launched a fleet of two thousand ‘No Refusal’ taxis in 2013. These white-and-blue cabs would have the words No Refusal’ emblazoned clearly on their doors, and would be commandeered by drivers who were under strict instructions not to refuse passengers, regardless of destination, time of day, or weather.
The move was lauded by the city’s residents, and seemed to work…