Mixed reaction

by Rukshana Rizwie

In a bid to clampdown on crimes and formalize the three-wheeler taxi sector, the Western Province Road Passenger Authority (RPTA) has rolled out a new scheme to begin registration of three-wheelers.

The move to include tracking devise to registration has received mixed reactions from three-wheeler owners, who had rejected attempts in the past, to formalize the small, private passenger transport services by the authorities.

The registration which is done on a voluntary basis will cost three wheeler owners Rs. 350 annually. The registration will also require the driver to buy a new meter for Rs. 12,000 on an initial payment of Rs. 1,500, while the balance to be paid in instalments.

These meters have an inbuilt GPS tracker, K.G.R Manujith, General Manager, RPTA told the Sunday Observer.

Explaining the new regulation, Manujith said the need to add a GPS tracker was primarily due to an increase in crimes, in which three-wheelers were often used.

"The meter comes with an inbuilt GPS tracker which can be used by the police, to trace the vehicle. This new measure will allow the Police to track three-wheelers".

He said the Authority was in discussion with the Police and will roll out a similar scheme for school service and the cab service.

According to Manujith, several complaints in the past and concerns over the safety and security of commuters, have been the crucial factors in forging ahead with the registrations.

"We've also noticed there still exist several three-wheelers in the Western Province that do not have a meter or have defunct meters. This regulation will ensure that commuters are protected from unscrupulous taxi drivers with their safety assured."

However, the Three Wheeler Driver Associations are still skeptical about the process. Sudil Jayaruk representing the All Island Three Wheeler Drivers' and Owners' Association, expressed concerns regarding the new regulation, and said, it has been enforced in a haphazard manner without a proper action plan or guidelines. "There are a lot of discrepancies in the new regulation that we as three wheeler owners cannot understand," he said. "Many three-wheelers in the Western Province are registered in other districts at the same time, and there are three-wheelers used both as taxis and for personal use. The regulations are not clear on either," he said.

Jayaruk said, his Association has been calling on the government to establish a transport commission that would govern three-wheelers as is done in the National Commission for buses. He opined, the Association felt there were ulterior motives in the new regulation as it lacked basic guidelines. "It has to be done in a more cohesive and practical manner," he said. "But we believe, it is purely a money making scheme. If the authorities get even Rs.100 from one three-wheeler, it would amount to a big sum annually."

Meanwhile, President, All Island Three-Wheeler Drivers' Union, Lalith Dharmasekara welcomed the move by the Authority and said, in the 38 years since this profession came into being, it was the first credible step to formalise both, the profession and the trade.

"I would encourage all three-wheeler drivers who are part of our union to register and will make it compulsory that they do," he said, adding that a regulation of this nature was pertinent to the industry.

"There are 1,1 00, 000 three-wheelers in the country, 500 000 of which operate in the Western Province, and nearly 200, 000 run on hires," he said. "And yet, we come across three-wheelers that either do not have meters or have defunct meters. Therefore, it is time we introduced a regulation," he said.

Dharmasekera said, such registration would ensure that a commuter pays a fair price for the hire.

The registration forms are available at the divisional offices of the authority as well as at the Divisional Secretariat.

Furthermore, he said, those who register are entitled to benefits such as: 25% discount on the purchase of tyres from DSI, 10% discount for phones from Mobitel, a savings account at Sampath Bank with the minimum deposit waived off and a life insurance scheme worth Rs.500 000.

The process of registering three-wheelers in the Western Province will start from June 30 on a voluntary basis. The regulations are a re-enactment of the Extraordinary Gazette Notification 1834/27 published in 2013. Accordingly, the gazette notification states that the passenger transport service permit will be issued by the Authority only to three-wheelers that are used as taxis.

"This regulation is not applicable to those who use three-wheelers for their company or private use," Dharmasekara said. He said, "There is much skepticism in the regulations, several protests were carried out in the past, numerous gazette notifications issued, and every attempt has failed to serve the purpose.

This time however, they had embarked on the scheme after a series of consultations with various stakeholders in the trade," he said.