TIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Akshaya Ravi, an SBI employee at Palayalm says she nearly ends up in a fight everytime she hires an autorickshaw. She argues she had been denied rides on countless occasions because the distance was too short. Many city folks have the same ordeal to share. Either you are denied rides or are overcharged for the same.
It was the rising number of such complaints that put the Motor Vehicles Department on their toes, a reason why they have decided to cancel the licence of the auto-drivers who deny rides to passengers.
“If a complaint is registered against an auto driver, both the complainant and driver will be called for a hearing. Only then, action will be taken,” Regional Transport Officer B Muraleekrishnan said. “If the complainee is found guilty, as a first warning, his or her licence will be suspended for a period of time.
The licence will only be cancelled if the driver is a repeated offender,” Brinda Sanil, Motor Vehicles Squad Inspector, said. “It is important to talk to both the passenger and the driver. We already received hundreds of complaints, but the district has fewer ones compared to other districts,” she said.
The WhatsApp number 8547639101 to register the complaints have already received an overwhelming response from passengers prompting the the MVD department to also send out its email id. The complainant need only send a photograph of the number plate of the vehicle along with a brief on the grievance.
Tussle over fares
But the tussle over fares continue in the city. Arya (name changed), who works at Finastra, Technopark, was asked to deboard an autorickshaw when her destination wasn’t convenient for the driver. It was late when she reached the city from Thrissur and immediately looked for an autorickshaw. “As soon as I told the driver about the destination, he asked me to get out from the vehicle as it was only a few kilometres away or else I should pay extra for the ride.”
She accused the driver of being rude, “When I told him I will pay the metered amount he refused and asked me, “Are you new to Thiruvananthapuram, this is how it works here,” she said. This is not an isolated incident. Vidya (name changed) who works at UST Global in Thiruvananthapuram, had gone through a similar kind of experience. “I prefer Uber cabs as it costs comparatively less while auto drivers charge us whatever they wish. Sometimes they do not even switch on the meters on a ride,” she said.