NEW DELHI: For anyone hailing an auto in the city it's an every day story - chances are that you are either turned down by dozens of auto drivers who will refuse to take you to your destination, or get charged through your nose. Instead of aggressively booking such autos for fleecing and manipulating a hapless commuter, traffic police officers shift the onus on the commuters to register a complaint. Recently, cops have started booking errant auto drivers for permit violations as well, which forces them to go to court and invites a larger fine, said cops.
But for frequent commuters, taking an auto is a daily hassle. "Auto drivers just refuse to take you if they don't want to go to that destination. Worse, they act as if they are doing you a favour if they are going through a congested route or are dropping you to a residential location, claiming that they won't get commuters there," said Souvik Guha, a regular auto user.
Several commuters complained that they auto drivers rarely agreed to be paid by meter rates. "They don't give a chance for us to argue. They either name a preposterous fare, or just drive off if we insist on paying by meter. They always complain that the CNG rates are increasing, about inflation, even about the amount they have to pay for auto rent. Are not all of us suffering from rising prices?" said Radhika Saran, an anguished commuter.
If finding an auto during the day is difficult, it quickly becomes impossible after evenfall. "Auto drivers refuse to take you to any destination at all. They seem to be content driving without a passenger, because when they do find their hapless victim, they would charge such an exorbitant rate that they can make up for lost fare. I tried for weeks to hold off this sort of manipulation, but it just gets worse the longer you wait," said a bitter commuter Shailendra Rai.
Most commuters said that getting an auto to drop you to short distances was extremely difficult. "If it is about a Rs 20-30 fare, they insist on at least Rs 50. This is the major reason I can't use the metro because I can never find autos to and from the metro stations, no matter what the time," said Dipika Lal, another exasperated commuter.
In what should have been one of the easiest modes of public transport - frequency of service, point-to-point pick up and drop, and safe from sharing space with unsavoury public - the auto is the preferred mode of service for a wide range of travelers, especially women. However, frequent over charging, misbehaviour, refusal to drop to all destinations and wanton whims make travelling in an auto a horror. At night, the drivers turn even more menacing, with little fear of repercussions of their behaviour.
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