New trick to waylay commuters

New trick to waylay commuters
BY AKANKSHA MEHROTRA
BENGALURU


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Tampered meters, excess fare during night have become an old issue faced by the general public.

Nowadays, city auto drivers have adopted a new method to cheat the commuters.

Many of the auto drivers have fixed their meters in such a way that even if the auto is at the signal or in a traffic jam, you will be charged. The extra money comes to Rs 2 to Rs 4 per stop. And if you ask for the explanation, they will say that it is the waiting charge that they are asking for.

“This new trick of charging excess fare on the name of “waiting charges” is very prevalent these days. This is highly unnerving. The auto meters are tampered to such an extent that a stop of 2 minutes at a city signal will cost your Rs 3 extra,” said an auto commuter, Shristhi Sachdev.

Commuters are seeing a drastic increase in the auto fare since the last few months.

“The minimum charge itself is so much; on top of that no autos agree to commute at night unless you pay them double or triple the meter amount. Above all, this new system of waiting charges is very unnerving.

The city autos have become highly unaffordable. Why should we pay the money if there is a stop at every sig nal? Is that our fault if there is a jam in the city?” said another commuter, Krishna Sharma.

There is a provision for waiting charges in the rule book.

However, the amount charged by these auto drivers is far more than what is mentioned.

“This is completely absurd. No auto driver can tamper the meter to such an extent. This is a punishable offence. The legal metrology department is supposed to keep a check on the auto and taxi meters. One should report such incidents to the Weight and Measurement Department along with the auto number and driver’s name,” said Somasekhara of Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers Union.

“As per the rules, the auto drivers are supposed to charge Rs 4 per hour as waiting charges. The penality for the offence ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000,” he added.