Know your foolproof digital meter

Know your foolproof digital meter
Prashanth G N | TNN

Bangalore: With the new auto fare hike coming into effect from Friday, passengers may prefer autos with digital meters over those with mechanical meters, to feel sure they are paying the right amount. But are digital meters tamper-proof ? Many passengers say digital meters are not free of problems — the panel displaying distance covered gallops away at a faster rate than the actual distance covered, resulting in a higher fare. However, manufacturers maintain that the latest meters are tamper-proof.
A meter is ‘tampered’ if its pulse does not match the nature of the auto’s engine. Why does this happen? Mohammed Yusuf, a digital meter manufacturer explains: “The distance-covered indicator and fare jumps when a two-stroke pulse meter is fixed in a four-stroke auto. This is done deliberately by some drivers to make more money. But if a fourstroke pulse meter is fixed in a twostroke auto, the fare will begin to fall as the distance-covered indicator increases very slowly. This pinches the auto driver. Passengers seem to come across the former more often.’’
How do you avoid both situations? Yusuf says passengers should look for a sticker/natural casting on the digital meter with the words ‘twostroke’ or ‘four-stroke’. The two-stroke sticker should only be for a two-stroke auto and four stroke sticker for a fourstroke auto. Whether the auto is two or four stroke will be written behind the auto, or the driver will tell you.
If the two stroke sticker/casting matches with a two-stroke auto and four-stroke sticker with four stroke auto, fares will be fair both to passengers and driver. If passengers make the effort of looking at the meter once they get in, identify the sticker/casting and ascertain which stroke the auto is, they can make out whether the digital meter is correct.
Hike in auto LPG rate
A day after the auto fare was revised, there is an increase in auto LPG rate. The price of auto LPG has been increased by Rs 1.31 which will come to effect from Friday. It will be Rs 36.69 per litre as against the earlier Rs 35.38 per litre. Normally, auto LPG prices change every month, in sync with the international LPG prices.
THE ADVANTAGES
Latest meters are tamper-proof as they are run entirely on software; the first few meters were susceptible to manipulation.
Passengers can see km/distance for fare charged.
Meter runs till Rs 9,999.
Meter doesn’t have automatic one-and-a-half fare after 10 pm; drivers would charge one-and-a-half over and above the one-and-a-half fare already shown in the meter. Now, only actual/normal fare will show and after 10 pm, the extra fare has to be calculated by driver and passenger.
WHAT PASSENGERS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR
All digital meters with a monogram called Suvarna Karnataka cannot be tampered with; look for the monogram on the meter. If meter is tampered, it will show ‘tampered’ after some distance and auto fare will begin to fall.