At last, signs of the resurrection of the long-considered redundant autorickshaw meters have arrived. With the State Government’s recent order stipulating the ubiquitous three-wheelers to display a fare card and operate — yes, operate — the meters on them, it might sound like an understatement if the same was met with a sigh of relief by the masses of Tamil Nadu. But, would it? Or would it be slotted as “just another announcement”, providing fodder to the cynically-inclined? If not, how would the autowallahs continue charging high fares? City Express does a quick check with the city’s populace to find out.
Daman, College Student
I am not confident about the autorickshaw drivers implementing the new fare system. The reason is there is a wide difference between their present rates and that proposed most recently. This means, it would eat heavily into their profits. Adopting this would be akin to killing their golden goose. Evasive tactics aren’t new to them, and I feel they would only continue it. As it is, I feel they would cite one issue or the other to delay the implementation of the new fare system
Usha, Nurse
The fare revision by the government is a very good move. But it remains to be seen how far it will be implemented. In the first two days, the drivers have not bothered to follow the new rates and continue to fleece commuters. The minimum rate is still `40 or 50 even for distances less than 1.5 km. For instance, the asking rate between Central railway station and Velachery is `300, which I can still afford on a daily basis. The situation worsens if it is a bandh and I need to get to the hospital for an emergency. Strict implementation holds the key
Mani, Retired salesperson
I don’t think autorickshaw drivers can cheat anymore, as everything happens right in front of our eyes. Thanks to the GPS machines, the distance gets displayed, and there is a provision to inform the police. This means that we can immediately contact them if we find something amiss. But the devil lies in the detail, and given our autorickshaw drivers, they could still charge the old fares by causing it to malfunction, citing the excuse that it isn’t working
Amritlal Shah
If any system is to work, the police-autowallah nexus has to be broken, only then can we expect some results. The system proposed by the government looks promising
Ramamoorthy Swaminathan,
Senior Executive
Noble as the intentions of the government’s decision may be, I really do not see it materialising, The reason being the shoddy track record of the autorickshaw drivers. This is because they would not want to reduce their profits. We have seen certain problems creeping up in the run up to installing the meters and they would cite any reason to nix it
Daisy, Employee
“I loved the Namma Auto concept, and I have travelled in their autorickshaws on a couple of occasions. I am very happy that even other autorickshaws are going to implement such rules, especially bringing back the meters. But our auto drivers who are so long used to getting more money might find ways to charge more
S Johnson, Egmore Children’s Hospital Staff
It may take a few months to get fully operational, but I am certain it will succeed, as we have proof for the same, in other districts such as Trichy. If the system is brought into implementation, the autorickshaw drivers will have no option but to resort to ask for the right fares
Amudha, Hospital Staff
Autorickshaw drivers still feel they can demand any rate. I think till the government strictly implements it, they will come up with excuses like lack of meters or lack of receipt of the orders. An early deadline to fix the meters is the need of the hour
(Contributed by U Tejonmayam, Amritha K R, Priyadarshini S and Rajagopalan Venkataraman)