Delhi Auto Problems - Mumbai is a bad example

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 !