Gharry Fares 1907

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When the 2nd Battalion the Suffolk Regiment arrived in Aden in 1907 the ‘Suffolk Gazette’ published by the battalion included advice on what soldiers should pay for a local taxi, the horse-drawn gharry:

 

“In this part of the world where the taximeter has not yet been introduced, the ‘Gharry Wallah’ is likely to ‘come the old soldier’ with his fares, and invariably demands extortionate sums from soldier passengers." The authorised rates of hire are given below:­

 

The whole day from sunrise or sunset, or any period not exceeding 12 hours, if specially agreed at time of hiring, within the Peninsula of Aden, provided the distance travelled within that time did not exceed 16 miles - Rupees 4.

 

If engaged to ply within any single division, for every hour or fraction of an hour - Annas 6.

 

CRATER or (Town) includes all that portion of Aden within and to the eastward of the Main Pass as far as the South Gate.

 

MARSHAG includes all that portion of Aden lying beyond and to the southward of the South Pass.

 

ISTHMUS includes smaller and larger Isthmus positions from the mouth of the large Tunnel on the Crater side up to the Western gate in the large Isthmus, and the space between the Barrier Gate, Obstruction Pier and Western Gate.

 

MAALLA includes all that portion of Aden lying between the Main Pass and the Hedjuf or Little Pass.

 

TAWAHI includes all that portion of Aden lying beyond and to the westward of the Hedjuf, or Little Pass, as far as the Post Office Pier and the Condensing Engineer's house (included).

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STEAMER POINT includes all that portion of Aden lying beyond and to the South and West of Post Office Pier and Condensing Engineer's house up to the Eastern Telegraph Company's message receiving house. 

 

GOLD MOHUR VALLEY includes all that portion of Aden lying beyond and to the South and East of the Eastern Telegraph Company's message receiving house.

 

[The use of a gharry by the soldiers for longer journeys, e.g. Crater to Tawahi, must have been somewhat of a luxury; at 5 Rupees to a Pound (and 16 Annas to a Rupee) a gharry, even when shared, was not particularly cheap bearing in mind the soldier's rate of pay.]