Some taxi drivers in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan have complained about the high costs of changing the color of their taxis and the extortion by the Taliban. Meanwhile, many drivers express concern about widespread administrative corruption and exorbitant fees in processing vehicle documents and licenses under the Taliban’s traffic department.
The citizens’ complaints about the increasing corruption and bribery in several Taliban-controlled government institutions come at a time when the group has made numerous claims about fighting administrative corruption and bribery. Many drivers complain about administrative corruption and high fees for processing documents and licenses in the Taliban-managed general traffic department. They say that various group-level officials are involved in administrative corruption and bribery.
These drivers told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that obtaining a taxi license and “number plate” for a taxi costs between 40,000 to 50,000 Afghanis, and repainting the taxi according to the color specified by the Taliban costs 20,000 Afghanis. They added that in addition to paying hefty sums, drivers face prolonged bureaucratic delays in Taliban-controlled institutions due to excessive paperwork and favoritism.
Some Kabul taxi drivers say the Taliban have contracted a company to change taxi colors, and apart from this company and its provincial branches, no one else is allowed to repaint their vehicles elsewhere.
At the same time, many taxi drivers in the provinces and on highway routes also complain about corruption in the Taliban traffic department. They claim that Taliban officials in this department changed Kabul City taxi licenses to provincial ones for hefty sums of money.
Ahmad Jawed (pseudonym), a taxi driver in Kabul, says he has driven a private car as a taxi on Kabul roads for several years and is now forced by the Taliban to change his car documents to a city taxi. This driver complains about the high costs involved in obtaining a taxi license and says: “The number plate for my car cost 43,000 Afghanis. The expenses for repainting the car, changing the license, transportation booklet, technical inspection, and all other costs are collected. The paperwork process is very cumbersome; you have to spend several weeks at the traffic department, land transportation, technical inspection, and bank payment offices.”
Another Kabul taxi driver who has changed the color of his taxi complains about the difficulties in processing his car documents and accuses the Taliban of extortion and bribery. This driver says: “Initially, they said it would cost only 9,600 Afghanis, but when I started the process, the costs doubled. Every department they send you to, someone takes a fee and gives you a receipt to pay more money! They take money under different pretexts. Some car parts, which have no issues, are forcibly changed, and the whole process is just about taking money from people.”
Meanwhile, a taxi driver on the Kabul-Paktia highway route, who recently changed the color of his car, reveals financial corruption in the Taliban-controlled traffic department. He says his taxi had a Kabul city taxi license, and the Taliban forced him to change his documents to a provincial taxi to continue driving on the highways. This taxi driver adds that the Taliban took a large bribe to change his car’s license. He says: “They [the Taliban] have created a source of income for themselves. They say city taxis are not allowed on highways. Finally, to continue my work, they took 800 USD from me in the traffic department and issued a provincial taxi license.”
Many taxi drivers in various cities across the country emphasize that due to the lack of jobs and employment opportunities, they are forced to drive taxis on urban routes to make a living, which they achieve with great difficulty. They say that in such harsh economic conditions, the Taliban’s extortion has exasperated them.
This comes after the Taliban announced in May 2023 that all city and highway passenger vehicles must be repainted. The Taliban have chosen turquoise and white for taxis, whereas since the introduction of cars in the country, Afghanistan’s taxi colors have been yellow and white.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
