Autorickshaw rules and regulations, in recent history, have been in the constant eye of a storm. These storms have had different flavours but the turbulence has remained. However, the claim I will make here is that this is the fault of policy makers, commuters and the drivers themselves strictly in that order!
I will restrict myself to the situations in Delhi and Mumbai in this post, the former considered to be an auto commuter's nightmare, and the latter an opposite
Let me start with Delhi, the national capital, where much has been attempted to bring the auto drivers on 'trac'k. About a decade ago, when the city had manual fare metres, both commuters and auto drivers were wary of using them. The drivers often thought the tarrifs were low, and the commuters thought metres were rigged to clock higher fares. Thus negotiations was a preferred method of arriving at a mutually beneficial rate.
Negotiation however was a method that wasted time and was in some manner, a breach of law of the land. The governemnt came down heavily on the auto driver to use metres. As a result they rigged the metres which would often clock more and commuters on the other hand began preferring the negotiation rate. The government came up with a smarter alternative of electronic metres which provided the distance and the fare thus making it difficult for the metres to be rigged. That in effect should be a win win situation and most auto rickshaw drivers were upgraded to electronic metres. The city however refused to warm up to this situation and negotiation still is the standard method of arriving at the fare. Most electronic metres are made dysfunctional by rickshaw drivers that render them non existent.
Now lets turn to the sea side story of Mumbai, where there is complete order and thus harmony among the various stakeholders of auto rickshaw system. However, there is a larger problem which lies beneath the surface. The metres are not electronic and hence are most often rigged. The average commuter pays much more than he should and hence the rickshaw driver does not mind running by the metre as he is always earning more. This is increasingly becoming a problem and electronic metres have become the need of the hour. However, with electronic metres will this harmony remain is what remains to be seen.
Auto fares in Delhi are Rs 3.5 a kilometre and hence a 10 km journey costs about Rs 35 /- irrespective of the traffic conditions and time of the day. The same journey in Mumbai costs Rs 70/- plus extra becuase of waiting time due to traffic. Add to it the rigged metre you can pay upto 20% more. With such a fare difference ( alomst double) it is not fair to blame the auto drivers in Delhi for not being compliant. Fuel costs only 5% more in Mumbai and hence this disparity is unexplained. Also traffic jams occur in Delhi as much as they do in Mumbai yet waiting time is not incorporated despite electronic meters !
12 years ago
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7 comments:
the problem is deeper. the system has no safety net for the delhi auto wallas. and neither for the travellers. the bargained price hurts the out of town travellers the most as they are the ones who dont konw the appropriate prices.
for a similar example, take the loans to the needy. they can cost as much as 300% while the rich, who dont relly need the loan, can get it for as cheap as 10%! differences galore!
Unusual yet refreshing topic for your first post.
But then how many of society's problems have we even looked at objectively!
cost of living in mumbai is much higher than delhi so mumbai auto wallas HAVE to earn more than their counterparts in delhi. moreover, traffic jams are virtually nil in delhi now but same is not the situation in delhi. these jams lead to a lot of fuel wastage. thirdly, in delhi, auto wallas can go anywhere but in mumbai a large area os resticted for them..
I am overwhelmed at the comments of my first post:)
The Gist was that we should not be blaming the auto wallahs of Delhi for the bargaining they indulge in or refusal to comply with the metres. I think they are given a raw deal on the metre rates
Example or no example what is happening is wrong. Whether in Delhi or in Mumbai the law is being violated and the same may not condoned at any cost. The asnwer to this problem is an active public private partnership with an aim to achieve a system where a sustainable middle path is arrived at. Dependable public transport is a bench mark of any modern metropolitan city. I am afraid no Indian city is up to the mark or even close in that regard. I see this as greater problem than just auto rickshaws. It is the entire public transport system that is in a complete mess and needs urgent attention.
i hope you took into consideration the cost of living of the two cities and of course the huge difference that CNG rates and the mileage differences. i dont know if Mumbai autos run on CNG. here, in Delhi they do! the current cost is 19Rs per kg i guess which runs for say 20 Kms (all hear-say)! congratulations- the meter downs at rs 10 and dawns at rs 4.5 per km! also the auto wallahs never aspire to have a union which makes it all the more difficult to help any kind of referendum or protest on their behalf!!
anyway... if all of this makes any sense! i still fight over a rupee and meter down!!
well both cities autos are on CNG, just to clarify
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