Metered down @ 02224937755/ 24937746

All Mumbai commuters can now heave a sigh of relief. In case you want to travel to a particular place and the driver (be it rickshaw or taxi) refuses to take you to your destination, reach out to Mumbai Traffic Helpline @ 02224937755/ 24937746.

Here's how it works : Let's say you have to go from Pt.A to Pt.B. On spotting an empty rick/ cab you ask the driver to stop. By all means he will, but the minute you tell him the destination many a times he might refuse to go there, citing reasons like there's too much traffic to my tyre is about to break to there's no gas to something as lame as this vehicle is local :-p. By now you must have already got into the vehicle. When he refuses to move, dial the helpline 02224937755/ 24937746. A police officer will answer your phone immediately. You tell him, I boarded the vehicle from Pt. A and I intend to go to pt.B and the driver refuses to go there saying blah blah blah.. whatever the excuse. The inspector will want to confirm if the meter was up. If was tilted sideways before you boarded the vehicle, then you as a passenger are at fault. As apparently sideways means the driver is off-duty and you can't win the case. Once the inspector confirms the meter was up he will ask you for the vehicle registration number and then you will need to hand over the phone to the driver. There will be an exchange of arguments and finally the driver will agree. He has to. If he still insists to not budge, then the inspector will send a wireless message to the nearest traffic police guy and he will come up to you. This could take around 10 mins. And the cop will then take away the driver's licence. It has worked for me all the time. I don't know what's the number for outside Mumbai. I sincerely hope they implement this strategy all across.

Points to remember:

• The Meter has to be UP AND NOT SIDEWAYS
• Especially for ladies:Try this stunt at a public area and not some isolated locality
• Be quick to note down the vehicle registration number
• Ensure there is enough battery charge in your cellphone

PLEASE PASS ON THE NUMBER TO WHOMSOEVER YOU THINK MAY NEED THIS DISTRESS-CALL NUMBER!

I repeat the number 02224937755/ 24937746.