Bengaluru: Auto drivers take passengers for a ride, surge prices; Over 150 complaints in one day
Auto drivers in Bengaluru are causing problems for passengers by charging excessive fares, refusing to use meters, and engaging in aggressive behaviour. Despite numerous complaints, the police have been ineffective in addressing the issue. The authorities have now promised to take action and crack down on these drivers.
FollowOften people in Bengaluru complain about auto drivers seeking excess fares, than the decided fare. They often quarrel with the passengers, either for fares or for some other issue. Bengaluru residents often complain about the auto drivers in Bengaluru, about being arrogant and not using their metres.
The KSR Bengaluru Junction is one of the busiest hubs, as passengers arrive and depart the city every hour. It is the hub of passengers and is often crowded. The auto drivers stand outside the railway station and also charge extra fares for the trip. They crowd the City Railway station and create a traffic jam. When a passenger comes along asking for a drop, they refuse to go and hinder other passengers.
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Despite creating a ruckus and arguing with passengers, the traffic police never book or send them away from the station. It seems like the auto drivers do not care about the traffic cops and even the passengers are afraid of the drivers as they gang up quickly and start abusing the passengers.
Some auto drivers, when the passengers refuse to pay them extra, gang up and stop the passengers from taking other autos. Even when other drivers see this as an opportunity and start the metres, it’ll not be for a long distance, they charge extra over the metre.
Citizens say that the police do not take any action, even if they receive complaints from the helpline number. Most of the citizens are not even aware of these helplines to complain against the auto drivers, said a passenger.
Bengaluru traffic and auto drivers are often in the news as they rise and fall according to the peak hours. There are currently about 6,022 cases registered against auto drivers in Bengaluru. Yet, these constitute only 0.14% of the total offences by auto drivers. Most of them don’t even get registered.
“They slow down near bus stands and block the passengers from climbing the buses. Due to this, the buses stop ahead of the bus stand and this makes the passengers to run and catch the bus” said S, Murthy - a resident. This behaviour of auto drivers is not just for one single area. Each and every bus stand in Bengaluru will have experienced this” he added.
The traffic police responded to the complaints of the passengers over Twitter. Saying “Please call the helpline number 080-22868550.228684444 to complain against the rickshaw drivers - who demand excess fare, misbehave or also refuse you the trip”.
The cases against auto drivers totalled 151 on Friday. These 151 cases are registered under the Indian Motor Vehicles Act (IMV) in Western Bengaluru. The rash behaviour of the drivers outside KSR station invited many complaints from the citizens. Thus, the police nabbed these cases in the KSR railways station, Majestic bus stand, Satellite bus terminal and Mysuru road.
The DC of Police Suman Pennekar commented, “We’ve ordered the auto drivers to park in their designated parking only and not to crowd up in the bus stand and railway stations. The decoy officers are sent to file complaints in the IMV act, if the drivers ask for an overcharge, above the metre fare”
She ensured that from now on there will be regular check-ups against the auto drivers. Most of them don’t wear uniforms and carry their ID proofs in the auto. They drive recklessly in the traffic, which creates a diversion among the vehicles. Wrong-side driving is common and speeding up in traffic can lead to accidents, Pennekar added.
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“Such cases are only reported outside the KSR Railway station. We will check if such cases happen outside metro stations too”, Joint Commissioner of Police M N Anucheth said.
“The fares of Auto rides reach sky-high prices after 9 pm. Even when there is a clear instruction of the government to raise the prices by 1.5% post 10 pm, they turn off the metre and also charge passengers more than they can expect. One day, I was charged 150 rupees for a 1km ride, at 10 pm”, said Sai Krishna, a passenger.
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