Last week I had requested for a Call Taxi to drop us to the Hyderabad Airport. As we walked out of our gate, we were greeted by a gentleman who introduced himself as Srinivas driver of Call Taxi. After loading our luggage into the Maruti Omni he took the the directions to our destination.
As we started our short journey to the Airport, I struck a conversation with Srinivas, who spoke fluent non-Hyderabadi Hindi and bit of English. Srinivas worked for Call Taxi a 24 hours service run by Harsha Travels.
He mentioned that like is tough as a taxi driver. Not being educated enough he had a tough upbringing and he finally landed as a cab driver. He travels almost 20 KMs to his office at Begumpet(Chiran Fort Lane) where he takes charge of his taxi. As per him a taxi driver gets a monthly sum of Rs.2500 for a 12 hr cycle. At the end of this cycle he needs to hand back the vehicle at the office.
However, he is quick to add that the company(Harsha travel) provided him with the opportunity to earn money in many different ways:
1. Over-time: The cab driver can opt for an additional 12 hr cycle, providing him with Rs. 80/- which translated to Rs.2400 per month.
2. Good maintenance of vehicle and not availing any Leaves: The drivers were entitled to four days off in a month. However,if one doesn't take leave and the vehicle is maintained in good condition the driver gets additional Rs.1000 per month. Srinivas, proudly announced that he was one of the four drivers(out of 50 drivers) who have been getting this money every month.
3. "10% commission on the Meter rate": Each driver get a 10% commission on the total taxi meter billed. As per him it translates to 1000/- per month to 2500 per month on good seasons.
Apart from this the drivers get tips from the customers. They love foreigners as the tipping is quite high. All these put together gives him around 8000 per month which he feels is good enough for him to run his family.
While we were talking about this, I could see the sign board for the Hyderabad Airport our destination. He helped us in getting a trolley and gives a provided us with a bill. Bidding us farewell and wishing a safe journey Srinivas continued in his quest to pick up more passengers and taking home higher income to support the family.
A wonderful person in a tough situation - taking life as it comes. May God Bless him!!!
As we started our short journey to the Airport, I struck a conversation with Srinivas, who spoke fluent non-Hyderabadi Hindi and bit of English. Srinivas worked for Call Taxi a 24 hours service run by Harsha Travels.
He mentioned that like is tough as a taxi driver. Not being educated enough he had a tough upbringing and he finally landed as a cab driver. He travels almost 20 KMs to his office at Begumpet(Chiran Fort Lane) where he takes charge of his taxi. As per him a taxi driver gets a monthly sum of Rs.2500 for a 12 hr cycle. At the end of this cycle he needs to hand back the vehicle at the office.
However, he is quick to add that the company(Harsha travel) provided him with the opportunity to earn money in many different ways:
1. Over-time: The cab driver can opt for an additional 12 hr cycle, providing him with Rs. 80/- which translated to Rs.2400 per month.
2. Good maintenance of vehicle and not availing any Leaves: The drivers were entitled to four days off in a month. However,if one doesn't take leave and the vehicle is maintained in good condition the driver gets additional Rs.1000 per month. Srinivas, proudly announced that he was one of the four drivers(out of 50 drivers) who have been getting this money every month.
3. "10% commission on the Meter rate": Each driver get a 10% commission on the total taxi meter billed. As per him it translates to 1000/- per month to 2500 per month on good seasons.
Apart from this the drivers get tips from the customers. They love foreigners as the tipping is quite high. All these put together gives him around 8000 per month which he feels is good enough for him to run his family.
While we were talking about this, I could see the sign board for the Hyderabad Airport our destination. He helped us in getting a trolley and gives a provided us with a bill. Bidding us farewell and wishing a safe journey Srinivas continued in his quest to pick up more passengers and taking home higher income to support the family.
A wonderful person in a tough situation - taking life as it comes. May God Bless him!!!
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