December 26: The Taxi Service Centre (TSC) in Thimphu has introduced a new system to make it safer for passengers to travel by taxi. The new system will also enable passengers to recover belongings they have forgotten behind and prevent overcharging of fares.

If you should by chance forget and leave behind your personal belongings in the taxi, you don’t have to worry anymore.

With the new system, all you have to do is take out the prepaid card, which will be given to you as soon as you get in a taxi and pay the fare. On the card will be the name of the taxi driver, the vehicle number and the telephone number of the TSC. Dial the telephone of the TSC and give them the number of the vehicle, they will locate your belonging and return it to you.

There are also other advantages. Taxi drivers will not be able to overcharge or take advantage of unaccompanied woman passengers traveling at night.

But the prepaid service is available only with taxis registered with the TSC. So far, only 32 taxis have registered with the center. Passengers who make use of the taxi service welcomed the move. Taxi drivers who have registered with the TSC said the system will also benefit them.

They said at times they get drawn into unnecessary arguments with passengers over the fare. They said some passengers even refuse to pay the fare when they have reached the destination.

Dorji Wangchuk, the coordinator of the Thimphu taxi service said the prepaid cards will be issued only to taxi drivers who have registered with the TSC. He said prepaid card system will soon be introduced in other dzongkhags. Taxis registered with the Taxi Service Centre will have the words TSC written on both sides of the vehicle.