Commuters reluctant to lodge complaints

Commuters reluctant to lodge complaints
Bengaluru,


People seldom go beyond grumbling about being cheated by autorickshaw drivers, if the police is to be believed. Says DCP Traffic (East) Srinivas, “We frequently check autorickshaws. But we receive only around 50 to 60 complaints a month from passengers against them.” He says that despite the display of the driver’s license in the autorickshaw, passengers seldom make use of it to complain about harassment or over-charging. The license display system launched in 2005 by the Regional Transport Authority makes it mandatory for all autos to display a card carrying the name and address of the driver along with vehicle registration number behind his seat.

According to the DCP, autorickshaw drivers are issued theses cards only after a verification process which includes checking their proof of identity.

Commuters however, point out that many autorickshaws ply with expired licenses or at times without displaying the cards at all. Also the old address given in the driver’s licence is sometimes used in the display card as well.

Worryingly absence of a display card could mean the driver does not have a valid permit or that he may have stolen the autorickshaw which could make passengers vulnerable to being robbed or mugged.

“The police do not always check the licence display claiming they don’t have the time to do so,” says Somshekar, president of the Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union.

He advises passengers to take down the unique display number on the card instead of the address given on it , to make sure that the driver concerned can be identified and cornered for any misdemeanour.

“Commuters must get into only those auto rickshaws which have a uniformed photograph of the driver in the display card,” Mr Somashekar adds.

He suggests that all owners of autorickshaws should be give a master pass to make identification of drivers simpler. “Installation of a GPS system in autorickshaws similar to the one on BMTC buses could also help,” he feels.