Autos steer clear of prepaid counters

Autos steer clear of prepaid counters
Deccan Herald

A reality check on day one of the prepaid autorickshaw service showed the new system to be of no more utility than the existing one.

“No petrol, sir.” “Going home.” “MG Road? No.”

A reality check on day one of the prepaid autorickshaw service showed the new system to be of no more utility than the existing one. At the traffic police’s prepaid counters on MG Road and Dickenson Road on Wednesday evening, commuters were as frustrated by auto drivers as ever. And despite the presence of stern-looking traffic constables, the drivers still managed to get away with their usual excuses.

The counters were inaugurated by Police Commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh on Wednesday afternoon.

The queue of commuters was longer than the auto line on Wednesday night, with many drivers refusing to stop at the prepaid counter. According to Ramesh, a shopper, the constable in charge tried to draw the auto drivers to the counter, but to no avail. “I saw five traffic policemen asking autos to stop at the prepaid counter for over fifteen minutes, but not a single one stopped,” he said.

Most auto drivers said their tanks were empty or that they were headed home. Some didn’t even bother – they just zoomed past.

Will not stop

A constable on MG Road admitted: “Auto drivers refuse to stop even at our behest. They fear that they will lesser fare in a prepaid system as compared to the meter fare. Meters are usually tampered by auto drivers and they can extract a larger amount. However, these are early days for the new system.”

That said, the prepaid auto counters seem to be popular with the commuters.

The MG Road prepaid counter recorded at least 600 bookings on Thursday. The booking picked up after office hours as there were only 188 booking till 7 pm.

Meanwhile, commuters from other parts of the city who were headed towards M G Road met with blunt refusals from most auto drivers. “When I asked an auto driver to take me to MG Road, he asked me if I wanted to go near Food World. When I said yes, he simply sped away,” Rekha, a resident of Cox Town, complained.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Reddy said that the prepaid counters will shortly be made the only designated stands for autos, and drivers will not be allowed to park or pick up customers from any other point on the stretch. If there are customers waiting, any empty auto passing by will have to enter the prepaid counter lane, or a case will be registered against the erring auto driver. With another prepaid parking counter opening opposite Cauvery Emporium on MG Road next week, the situation will be brought under control, Mr Reddy said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem said, “The traffic police is keeping watch on the developments and the future course of action will be decided within a few days.”

The counters at the airport and the railway station were doing well, with more than 500 autos being booked on both Wednesday and Thursday. There are plans to set up prepaid counters at the City Bus Stand and the Yeshwanthpura Railway Station.