The traffic police have decided to make khaki uniforms mandatory for autorickshaw and cab drivers from December 1. The decision has been taken in view of the rising number of crime involving autorickshaws and cabs providing services to call centres and IT firms.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil said incidents like looting of passengers at night have increased in the recent times.

“We have been getting complaints that several autorickshaws plying in the city are either not allowed to run due to some reason or are not from Pune city. Following this, traffic police and the RTO carried out several drives,” he said.

He further added, “It has come to light that several autorickshaw drivers ply without official permission and mandatory badges procured from the RTO. Besides, it was also found that call centre cab drivers wore no proper uniform; neither did they have any badges.”

To stop such illegal activity, a meeting of RTO, traffic police and autorickshaw office-bearers was held on October 29.

“It was decided that 15 days should be given to the drivers to ensure that they ply the vehicles only in proper khaki uniforms. The rickshaw drivers complained that in such a short time it was difficult to procure the uniform. Therefore, they were given time till December 1,” he said.