Travelling in an auto in Bangalore is a harrowing experience. If the auto driver doesn’t demand extra money or take a longer route than necessary, he probably has a tampered meter. Taking an auto late at night is out of the question for a woman, because there is no guarantee for her safety. LPG rates have remained relatively stable too, but auto drivers, it seems are being compensated for their bad behaviour, while Bangaloreans are left with no choice but to shell out the extra amount. Shrinivasa M. reports.
Bangaloreans woke up Wednesday to news that the city auto fares have been hiked and they will have to pay a minimum fare of Rs 25 and not Rs 20 as they have been doing. For most it was a bolt from the blue as there was hardly any warning or public consultation in the matter.
The transport department, which claims the auto fare has been revised based on the recommendation of a committee of its officials, headed by a traffic police officer, says the hike is inevitable considering the escalating price of fuel.
But commuters refuse to accept this logic, pointing out that the auto LPG rate has been more or less stable for a year.
"In fact, compared to April this year auto LPG is cheaper by Rs 3 now. Everyone is aware that cost of living is skyrocketing in the city, but this doesn't justify the high fare revision," they protest.
Consumer activist, Dr. Rajatha S Rao, charges the transport department with giving in to the demand of the auto unions without considering the impact of such a steep fare hike on commuters.
"The unions' demand may be fair. But this does not justify increasing the minimum fare by Rs 5 at one go. A fare revision is usually done when the price of fuel rises steeply. But there has not been even a marginal increase in fuel price of late. So how did the district transport authority arrive at this large hike in fare?" she asks.
Increasing the fare without tackling the many problems confronting auto passengers doesn’t make sense either, say others.
"Increasing the fare is not the only responsibility of the transport department. it has to do more to improve the service provided. Often autos refuse to carry passengers for short distances and demand money over and above the meter,” says Murali Pai, a senior citizen, echoing the sentiments of the many Bangaloreans, who have suffered similarly at the hands of auto drivers in the city .
Why do drivers always have their way?
The exclusive auto stands, a helpline, boards displaying names of drivers and auto numbers inside the vehicles and an SMS complaint system introduced over the last few years should have streamlined the auto service, but they haven’t, reflecting the ingenuity of the drivers, who have beaten the system to have their way every time.
Take the recent experience of a doctor from Haveri who complained against an auto driver but was told there was no vehicle operating in the city with the number he had provided.
The issue was brought to the notice of senior transport officials when he raised it at public forum, but they too could do nothing about it as many auto drivers are operating on the streets using fake numbers on the boards displayed facing passengers inside the vehicles, ensuring they can never be caught whatever wrong they may do.
The poor monitoring of auto ownership adds to the mess.
A traffic policeman reveals that most autos in the city are rented by the drivers operating them.
"The owner leases the auto to one person who sub leases it to another. Often the owner doesn’t even know who is running his auto until a traffic cop knocks on his doors for an alleged traffic offence," he says.
According to industry insiders a number of local financiers own over a 100 autos each, despite the fact that auto permitsare usually issued very carefully.
“Drivers from economically and socially weaker sections buy autos with finance provided by locals at exorbitant interest rates. Many then end up mortgaging their autos to the financiers," they explain.?
Next: Nab that rude auto driver with the Happy Auto app
Nab that rude auto driver with the Happy Auto app
Bangalore: In a bid to encourage auto drivers to conduct themselves better with their passengers, city traffic police have launched the ‘Happy Auto’ mobile application, through which passengers can evaluate auto drivers. Based on the feedback from passengers, the police will give ‘Sugama-Savaari’ sticker to auto drivers with high ratings.
Sandalwood actor Sudeep formally launched the app at an event in Cubbon Park on Wednesday. Addressing the auto drivers gathered there, he said, “Auto drivers need to make people feel good, so they will in turn feel good about Bangalore, too. Drivers should treat them well, not demand excess fare or refuse to go to the destination they want.”
Talking about how route refusal could prove costly, Sudeep said, “Recently, a middle-aged woman in Puttenahalli was in immediate need of medical help.
She developed health complications in the night. Her neighbours tried to take her to hospital in an auto, but the drivers refused.
By the time they took her to the hospital, she was dead, leaving her four-year-old daughter orphaned. Such incidents should be a lesson to us all.”
Police Commissioner Raghvendra H. Auradkar said that auto drivers play a key role in city’s transportation system. “It is the responsibility of drivers to ferry their passengers safely to their destinations. Drivers should take utmost care while ferrying women around during odd hours,” he added.
Transport Commissioner Dr. K Amaranarayana, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B Dayananda and other officers were present at the event.
What is sugama savaari?
‘Sugama-Savaari’, the Safe Auto campaign is part of Sugama, a bigger project, by the city traffic police.
The project, which is being deployed on an experimental basis is designed to foster trust and cooperation between auto rickshaw unions and traffic police, passengers and auto drivers.
The Bangalore Traffic Police plan to eventually introduce Smart Autos, which could use GPS, RFID and similar technologies for a more professional, efficient and trust-enabling commute and transaction.
The ‘Happy Auto’ app comes enables you to rate a driver, give feedback pn his behavior and the overall experience.
Auto unions have agreed to set up feedback centres to receive suggestions and complaints from the passengers, police said. Based on this, good and safe drivers will be endorsed with a ‘Sugama-Savaari’ sticker.
