Mumbai Traffic Police Get Tech Savvy

Taxi and auto rickshaw commuters in Mumbai may no longer worry about being fleeced, thanks to a new online initiative taken by the Mumbai traffic police, to bring errant drivers to book. Mumbai commuters can now file an online complaint about taxi or auto drivers, along with the number of the errant driver's vehicle. The online complaint form is available on the official website of the Mumbai traffic police.

The nature of the complaint will determine the fine charged, which may range from Rs. 100 to confiscation of license, as per the Motor vehicle Act. The PRO of Mumbai Traffic Police said that they have already received close to a thousand online complaints and have managed to nab the miscreants in a turn around time of 7 days.

Joint Commissioner of Traffic Police (Mumbai), Satish Mathur said, "Many people don't get time to file written complaints or fax complaints to the traffic police. However, today, everyone invariably accesses the Internet at any point in the day. This online initiative is aimed at make things easier and more accessible for Mumbai commuters. We have also launched a traffic complaint service on mobile phones, whereby, people can complain via an SMS to 3040. the traffic police also offers a voice log service via the number, 30403040, which translates the voice recording into a text message for the traffic police."

The official website of the Mumbai traffic Police also features a traffic update service via email, which was launched in September last year. They are currently working on offering traffic updates on mobile phones, via SMS and Live updates on their official website, for minute to minute details.

Mathur added, "We already offer traffic updates on Rediff.com, whose subscribers get free email alerts and updates on traffic. We are also talking to other sites like Yahoo! to offer traffic updates to their subscribers via email."

IT consulting and services company, Datamatics Ltd. supports the official website of the Mumbai Traffic Police, assisting it with technical expertise.