With limited designated parking spaces for taxis in Thimphu Thromde, taxi drivers are complaining about the congestion and not getting enough passengers, affecting their incomes. But the Road Safety and Transport Authority says otherwise.
Located opposite Changlam in the core Thimphu town, one of the designated taxi parking areas under Thimphu Thromde is packed with outgoing and incoming taxis every time.
According to the cab drivers, it is a nerve-racking ordeal to find a space to park their taxis, forcing them to do multiple rounds within the town and unnecessarily wasting fuel.
The other problem facing them is hardly getting any passengers since they cannot stop and pick up passengers from areas other than the designated spots.
“We keep driving within the town until we get a space to park our taxis at the designated parking and wait for passengers. We have to refuel our taxis and also cannot pick up passengers from other places. Otherwise, we will be fined by traffic police,” complained one of the taxi drivers in Thimphu, Tshering Dorji.
Some other taxi drivers share similar predicament.
“The taxi parking here is small and we are not allowed to park at other available parking spaces. There is a space behind the entrance of the taxi parking. So it will be convenient for us if that is converted into a parking lot,” added another taxi driver, Lal Badur Wagley.
The taxi drivers also say more number of city buses hitting the thromde roads and increased hours of bus service from 7 am until midnight, have affected their business.
“City buses are plying everywhere, so it is difficult to get passengers. We mainly depend on taxi business for daily sustenance,” lamented Dorji Gyeltshen, who also drives taxi in Thimphu.
However, the RSTA maintains there is no shortage of parking spaces for taxis adding that the problem is with the taxi driver themselves since they don’t use the facility wisely.
Other stakeholders looking after the transport system in the capital also say their mandate is to provide efficient and affordable transport service to the public.
So, improving the city bus service echoes their mandate.
There are more than 6,200 taxis across the country. Of them, over 2,000 are in the capital.
Ngawang Tenzin
Edited by Pema Lhaden
