CHENNAI: Share autos have become almost an integral part of Chennai’s transport system. But, failure of the State government to regularise them has left commuters vulnerable to the operators. Commuters say they are often overcharged and the autos are overcrowded. But, there is no way to address the problems since most of the share autos do not come under any regulations.
In Chennai, only 200 vehicles have been given permit to run as share autos. However, 12,000 unauthorised share autos ply every day and in north Chennai alone there are about 3000. The share autos cater to 1.8 million passengers daily and the demand is increasing. A section of commuters said they are forced to take share autos due to lack of MTC buses while others feel share autos have become an unavoidable mode of feeder service.
‘‘In North Chennai, frequencies of buses on routes 44 (A) and 6 (A) have become minimal over the years and there is only 6 (D) left to commute from Tondiarpet to Beach Station quickly. The bus is heavily crowded in the morning and hence, I take share autos, even though I give extra Rs 10”, said S Raji (36), an office-goer and a daily commuter from Tondiarpet to Beach Station.
‘‘Share autos are flexible and do not stick to a particular route, so in times of traffic jam, they navigate quickly,” she said, adding that with Metro Rail service yet to come up to Tiruvottriyur, share autos can become an ideal feeder service if regulated.
Ideally, the share autos must be registered as ‘stage carriers’ under section 2(40) of the Motor Vehicles Act. This means vehicles carrying more than six passengers and the fare can be paid by one individual or many, in different stages of the journey. However, to avoid the stringent regulations, the share autos are registered as ‘contract carriers’ under section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1998. These are vehicles carrying passengers from point to point and not stopping in between in various locations to pick up or drop passengers.
Tata Ace Magic and Vikram Autos predominantly ply in Ashok Nagar, Annanagar and Nungambakkam routes, while the smaller Ape vehicles ply in north Chennai areas, namely Beach Station, Perambur, Tondiarpet, Tiruvottriyur routes.
V Balaji (32), a daily commuter from Washernmenpet to Beach Station, says the auto drivers are arrogant and exploit commuters. ‘‘In normal hours they charge Rs 20 from Tollgate to Beach Station and during peak hours, they charge up to Rs 30. It is either get in or leave,’’ he said.‘‘They do not return proper change sometimes as they know we are hurrying to catch the trains on time. If we argue with the auto drivers, we might end up missing our train,’’ he added.
The share autos do not have allotted parking slots, leading to haphazard parking which causes traffic snarls. According to a paratransit study done by Civitas Urban Solutions for City Connect Foundation Chennai, 67 per cent of share-auto users are between the age of 18 and 40 while 22 per cent is from 40 to 70.
The study also revealed that share autos made a higher number of trips than buses and made a daily revenue ranging from Rs 1.38 crore to Rs 2.38 crore, while the average fine rate per auto-ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 1000 depending on the violation.
So far, about 4,500 cases have been booked against the vehicles for various violations. ‘‘We fine Rs 2000 for permit violation and `1000 for drivers not wearing their uniform,’’ said a top transport official.
