Pirates on wheels

Pirates on wheels
Vijay Times

Check this out. You alight from a bus at the KSRTC stand in Majestic and wait for an autorickshaw. Suddenly five to six auto drivers pounce upon you, persuading you to get into their vehicles. You choose one and ask for the fare to Sajjanrao Circle near V V Puram, a distance of not more than five kilometres.

Rs 100, replies the driver. Knowledgeable local that you are, you look as if you have been hit by a hammer. You grimace or yell (depending on your temperament) and move on. But those who are new to the City, including foreigners and visitors from other states, fall prey regularly to these marauding automen.

These auto pirates have made an absolute mockery of the prepaid autorickshaw counter located only a few yards away. They cock a snook at the lane system that requires auto drivers to move past the prepaid counter after registering the vehicle number, destination and fare.

S Madhumita, from Andhra Pradesh, was confused when an auto driver demanded Rs 200 to take her to Rajarajeshwari Nagar from Majestic. "The problem here is that an outsider is unaware of the prepaid counter which is some distance away from the KSRTC entrance. Neither are there any boards pointing to the counter," she said.

What, one may ask, are the authorities doing? Explaining his daily plight, Chandrashekar P B, a constable posted at the prepaid counter, said, "Its true that many auto drivers are circumventing the rules and charging heavy fares. But if I go after such miscreants, there will be no one to keep an eye on the computer and other valuables at the counter." Ironically, commuters who make use of the prepaid counter fare just a little better. The computer installed in the counter is yet to start operations and passengers are being given a receipt mentioning the autorickshaw number, the destination and the number of passengers -- but not the fare. "The prepaid counter is of no use as officials here dont enter the auto fare fixed for various destinations," complained one commuter.

N V Mahalingappa, Assistant Sub Inspector in-charge of traffic in the area, said the automation process was stopped eight months ago due to some problem with the tendering process.