BENGALURU: With rising instances of unruly autorickshaw drivers fleecing customers during rains or flatly refusing to go on hire despite several pleas, the Bangalore Traffic Police has gone on an overdrive to take these drivers to task and in the past two days, they have booked over 9,400 cases against autorickshaw drivers for various offences including the often reported ones of refusing rides or asking for excess fare.
According to regular commuters, the experiences are harrowing. “I sometimes have to wait for more than 1 hour to find an auto driver willing to drop me at my house, though I don’t argue when they ask me for `20 or `30 more than the meter charge. With even a mild drizzle, the situation worsens as then they don’t even bother stopping the vehicle before refusing and driving away,” said Mohit Karn, a resident of Domlur.
While Bengaluru’s auto drivers have gained a notoriety for their flat-out refusals or their exorbitant demands, the situation had improved drastically during the early days of the launch of taxi-aggregator services. With cab services being available cheaper than auto rickshaws, the drivers were forced to behave politely with customers. However, with taxi fares touching new highs during rains, the auto drivers have regressed to their old behaviour and, according to some, are even worse this time around.
‘Was it a joke?’
“Today, an auto driver asked me to shell out `1,500 for an 8-km ride to office as it was raining heavily. While I initially thought this was a joke, I asked him again and he quoted the same amount without any change in his expression. Needless to say, I refused and he left,” said Ankita Tiwari, a resident of Jayanagar. This situation is made worse by rains since it is impossible to find cabs. “I tried booking a cab but none were available,” Tiwari said.
According to Anupam Agarwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic East), the drive was because of a rise in complaints against auto drivers. “We conducted the special drive on Monday and Tuesday across the city and it will continue in the coming days,” he said. The police have seized 1,908 vehicles with most number being seized from the east division.
However, the drive has not gone down well with auto drivers. For the past two days, the condition outside the Mayo Hall City Civil Courts has been chaotic with drivers queuing up to pay fines and angered with the entire procedure, resorting to shouting slogans and trying to stop traffic on busy MG Road. “For fault of few, all are being targetted,” said Anantha, an auto driver.