Date:12/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/12/stories/2007011202590900.htm

Back Deliverance for autorickshaw users?

The announcement of new fares has ended a long period of harassment undergone by the public at the hands of autorickshaw drivers.

On behalf of the long-suffering autorickshaw users of Tamil Nadu, this column offers its hearty congratulations to the State Minister of Transport, Mr K. N. Nehru, for resolving within a few months of taking charge the thorny issue of revision of autorickshaw fares which had been off for more than 10 years.

The announcement of new fares has ended a long period of harassment undergone by the general public at the hands of autorickshaw drivers who exploited to the hilt the unwillingness of the previous administrations to grasp the nettle.

Wholesale condemnation of any group of persons in any walk of life will not be fair. Reports keep appearing now and again of autorickshaw drivers taking poor patients in a serious condition to hospitals for free and handing over to the police or the owners large amounts of cash or costly jewellery which had been absent-mindedly left in their vehicles.

However, it is also true that there is hardly anyone among autorickshaw users who has not found dealing with the drivers to be a painful experience.

Chennai, in particular, says a popular newspaper, is in this respect "the most infamous among metros. The (drivers) are adept at getting unimaginable fares from tourists, particularly foreigners who don't know the language."

As per a randomly selected piece published in the Letters to the Editor column of The Hindu: "Nobody at the helm of affairs is able to or willing to control the menace of autorickshaws in the city and suburbs. The so-called `meter'... is just a showpiece... autorickshaw drivers are a law unto themselves. They demand exorbitant fares.

Traffic rules mean nothing to them. They don't signal while turning, causing accidents. Their language often goes beyond decency. The government itself agrees that half of the total number of autorickshaws do not have licence..."

What those who frequently travel to Bangalore and use the autorickshaws there find most perplexing is how a difference of just 200 miles can make such an enormous difference to the behaviour of the drivers.

They are full of admiration for the way the drivers put the meters on the moment the passengers get into their vehicle, never refuse short distance passengers, and meticulously return even the small change without demanding anything extra. From what one hears, the behaviour of autorickshaw drivers in other capitals too are equally well-mannered and dignified.

A question that arises in this background is why the revised fares in Tamil Nadu should be somewhat more than what they are, say, in Bangalore, when there is not much difference in fuel price and maintenance costs.

The minimum fare there as per fares revised on March 15, 2006, is Rs 10 for the first 1.6 km against Rs 14 in Tamil Nadu for the first 2 km.

While the fare for every additional kilometre is the same in both places, in Karnataka, the waiting charge for the first five minutes is free, with one rupee charged for every 15 minutes thereafter, whereas in Tamil Nadu it is at a blanket rate of 40 paise for every five minutes.

The charge for trips between 10 pm and 5 am is 50 per cent more than the revised rate in Karnataka while it is 25 per cent more in Tamil Nadu.

A few measures that Tamil Nadu can borrow from other States to enforce a greater degree of compliance and accountability are: Display of details of the driver's licence on the rear side of the driver's seat and engaging NGOs to undertake periodical training of the drivers to make them behave in a decent and courteous manner with passengers.

B. S. RAGHAVAN